AD&D Vikings Campaign

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om
Campaign Sourcebook
by David “Zeb” Cook
Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction. ................. .2 Chapter 8: A Brief Gazetteer ....

Chapter 2: A Mini-Course of Viking History.5 Europe, 9th and loth Centuries.. ..... 46-47
Chapter 3: Of Characters and Combat 14 .... Trelleborg Fortress, De nmark. .......... 79
Chapt er 4: Rune Magic ................. .33 St m g Farmhouse, Iceland. ............. .8
Chapter 5: ...And Monsters ............. .43 Trelleborg-style Barra cks. .............. 8
Chapt er 6: Equipment and Treasure. ...... 57 Denmark and Hedeby 9 .................
Chap ter 7: The Vilung Cultur? . 69 .......... Longship Deck Plans .................. .9
ADVANCED DUNGEONS 6 DRAGONS, A D W FORQOTEN REALMS,

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Introduction
A Few W ro ng Thoughts Vikings wear homed helmets. Sorry, they

Most of us are raised believing a lurid,
though quite colorful, picture of the fierce Vi-
king. This is primarily thanks to Wagner,
comics, Hollywood, and Bullfinchs Mythol- This sourcebook is more than just a setting
ogy. While rooted somewhere in a grain of for Vikings in a fantasy campaign; it is a pass-
truth, ou r popular image of Vikings has be- port into the real world of the Vikings. With
come little more tha n a cartoon-literally so the material here, DMs and players have a
through such strips as Hugar the Horrible, unique opportunity to try a new iole-playing
Prince Valiant, and Bugs Bunny forays into experience-historical fantasy adventuring.
opera. Before going any further, it is best to Historical fantasy adventuring is just that-
put to rest some of the misconceptions: an opportunity for campaigns and adventur-
ers to role-play in the real worlds and lands of
Vikings loot and piZlage. No one can deny the history. In this sourcebook, players are car-
Vikings did loot and pillage, but not every ried back to tenth century Scandinavia. There
Norseman was a ravening warrior who lived players can assume roles as Norsemen of vari-
to kill and destroy. The people of Scandinavia ous stripes-fighting men, explorers, an d
included lungs, earls, farmers, shipwrights, skalds, or bards. With the Vikings source-
poets, smiths, priests, merchants, and artists. book, players can adventure in a "real" fanta-
In fact, the word "Viking" only applies to sy world-the world as the Vikings
those Northmen who made a habit of themselves believed it.
raiding-"to go a-Viking'' was an expression In addition to warriors and skalds, players
that described their voyages. For this book, can become rune-casters, berserkers, or one of
Viking refers to all the people of Scandinavia. the ominous troll-born. Their encounters will
range beyond history to include clever giants,
Vikings are bloodthirsty pagans. At the start magical dwarves, beautiful valkyries, mur-
of the great Vilung age (around A.D. SOO), derous berserkers, foul sea ogresses, treacher-
there is no question the Vikings were a pagan ous sorcerers, and mythic dragons. They can
people. Before the end of their time, however, sail to lands beyond the real world-
the Viking nations had converted to Chris- Mirkwood, that separates the world of men
tianity. The pagan ways were repressed or, in from the gods; Jotunheim, home of the giants;
some cases, added to the Christian tradition. or even to the lands of the gods themselves.
Bloodthirsty, well. . Wondrous treasures might be theirs for the
taking.
Vikings are ignorant savages . While those vic- Finally, the Vikings sourcebook can be used
tims of the Viking raids saw them as savage, to recreate a Viking setting in other
the Vikings developed an impressive culture. campaign worlds. Details on placing and
Sagas and poems still remind us of their adapting Viking culture and beliefs to the
achievements. They were among the first to FORGOTTEN REALMSO, GREYHAWK@
practice fledgling democracy. Their ships were and DRAGONLANCE" campaigns is given.
built with an eye for beauty and were techno- Instructions on adapting the Vikings source-
logically superior to anything on the seas at book to the DMs personal campaign is also
the time. They founded cities, ruled in foreign provided.
'lands and undertook dangerous sea voyages
few others would dare.

How to Get Started on these as the campaign grows.

For those unfamiliar with Viking history
The V i k i n g Campaign Sourcebook and
(approximately from A.D. 800 o A.D. 1100),
a brief overview of the time period, describing AD&D@ 2nd Edition Rules
major personalities, events, and trends is This sourcebook is meant to be used with th
given in the first chapter, A Mini-Course in AD&D@ 2nd Edition rules. However, th
Viking History. Players already familiar with AD&D rules reflect the "realities" of a fa ntas
the time period can skip this section if they world, not the real world. Therefore
want. This section is not intended to create ex- changes, exceptions, and prohibitions exist i
perts in the Viking age, only provide a general these rules that do not apply to a normal fan
background of the period. tasy campaign. (For example, priests a re no
Before proceeding further, the DM should allowed as player characters in this source
decide what type of campaign he wishes to book.) When playing in a Viking setting, th
play. The material in this book is written with rule changes given here should be used. Thes
a historical fantasy campaign in mind - changes ensure the style and mood of the cam
campaign set in Scandinavia but filled with paign will match the Nordic setting. If ther
magic, giants, ogres and trolls. If the DM n- are contradictions, the rules found in th
tends to use the setting in his own campaign sourcebook take precedence.
world, he should make notes or changes as Not all campaigns will use the historical se
needed when he reads. ting given here. In this case, certain rules pre
After choosing his campaign, the DM can sented in this sourcebook may not apply o
read through the remaining material. The may need modification.
chapters can be read in whatever order the
DM esires. Player character information and
most game rules are in the first part of the
book. Facts and details about the Viking way
of life and their world, both real and legend-
ary, form the second section of the book.
Some players may want to learn about the
character classes immediately; others may
want first to gain more background on the Vi-
king age. Players are encouraged to read the
sections that most interest them in whatever
order they desire.
There is a pull-out map to be used by the
players, showing a stylized (and in places in-
corre ct) Viking view of the world.
Before beginning a Viking campaign, the
DM hould read through all the material pre-
sented here at least once. When he is ready to
begin a campaign, he should use this book as a
resource, just as he would an y other rulebook
or gazetteer. The maps pcovided in the book
provide the campaign base and larger area
maps of the true world. The DM can expand

I
I

A MiniXourse of Viking History
Danes raid Missionaries Da
Danes raid
I O M , 795
Lothair
rebels again
hires Da
mercen
789:A nd in (King Beorhtric's)da ys there came ences Players and DMs who want to lea
fo r the first time three ships of No rthm en, more about the Vikings and their times are e
from Horthaland: and tho reeve rode thither couraged to pick up some of the books list
and tried to compel them to go to the royal at the end of this chapter.
manor, for he did no t know what they were, Although the Norsemen lived in the roc
and they slew him. These were the first ships and cold lands of Scandinavia for millennia
of the Danes t o com e to England. was not until the early 800s that they ma
Anglmo-Saxon Chronicles their presence known to the world. Sudden
as if out of nowhere, raiders in long wood
So came, in blood and violence, the first no- ships descended upon the coasts of Englan
Scotland, Ireland, and France. Their first n
tice of a new
Vikings. force
During theto Northern
next Europe-the
three centuries, the toriety came from a series of raids, primar
sailors from Scandinavia would make their targeting the rich monasteries at Lindisfam
mark raiding, conquering, exploring, and set- Iona, and Jarrow. Soon they were raiding c
tling from as far east as Constantinople to as ies all along the coast and well inland.
far west as Vinland. The raiders came from several northe
lands-Denmark, Norway, and Swed
Though they called themselves Vikings, th
were referred to by the rest of the world
Nordmanni (Frankish), Dene, Dani (b
Anglo-Saxon), Ascommani (Germanic), Fin
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Harold Fin
the battle o
P~~~L X
\ I
Quentoric Bordeaux, Nimes, Arles Danes conquer Charles/ v&g
sack/
Paris, Hamburg
sacked
Paris sacked,
Friesland conquered
sacked
Vikings driven
from the
Loire valley
East Anglia
\ the Fat (Fr..)
Vikings beseiged
at Angers
bese
Par
by Rorik the Dane
Madjus (Arabic), Rus Slavic), Rhos Greek), were too weak individually and too distrust-
and Ruo tsi (Finnish). ful of each other to form an effective defense
Th e wor ld the Vikings found on their early against the Viking invaders.
,aids was a divid ed and weak one. Few lands Scotland was no better, perhaps even
had rulers strong enough t o o rganize defenses worse. Divided between a host of chieftains,
against the sudden Viking raids. M os t found it Scotland's best defense was its own poverty.
easier to suffer through these attacks or pay With little worth taking, the Vikings headed
off the Vikings in hopes they would not re- their ships towa rd mo re profitable shores.
turn. Such payments seldom worked; they Charlemagne's Frankish Empire (mode rn
had quite the opposite effect, encouraging the France and Germany) at first profited from
Vikings to come back for more "protection the emperor's strong and vigo ro us rule.
money." Coastal defenses were built and, under the
England was not yet a unified country. The control of a strong government, were ready to
+and wa s div ide d between the kings of Wes- drive away any attackers. With Charle-
sex, Merc ia, Northu mbria, and others. Strug- magne's death in 814, the Frankish Empire
gling against each other for control of all gradually began to decline. Split between
England, these feudal lords we re ill-prepared warring sons, the empire turned on itself,
to face a threat fro m overseas. leaving the coastsvulnerable to attack. By 835
Ireland was even more disorganized than its the Danes were raiding cities that only dec-
neighbor. The island, once the center for ades befo re had drive n back their fero cious at-
Christian learning in the north, was divided tacks. ~
between a score of petty kings. These kings To the east, there was no organized

Norse and Scots
._
The Finns and S hough stubborn, were liphates and emirates of the soutn
'ng raiders. Without accents of Viking travelers.
After making their first bloody raids on th

coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland, t
Once the greatest the Of
Vikings lapsed into a period of relative qui
the lords Of Constantinode ad lost Of that lasted for decades, The Dan
their lands to the qandi ations
launched a few attempts on Charlemagne
to the south. Africa and much of the Middle
lands, to be defeated and driven bac
East had been lost to the Arabs. Slavs threat-
Byzantium from the north. Efforts were Occasional raids were launched against E
gland and the Frankish lands, but these we
made to regain the Old borders Of the
small and isolated. Only h eland experien
and mercenaries were always needed to fight
what lay in store when Norse Vikings invad
in places like the Italy, and the Per- their lands. The Irish kings were split,
sian borders. The Vikings filled this need quite
siding with the invaders, others taking ann
against them. In a short while, however, t
there were the Arabs. The
N~~~~founded Dublin and proclaimed the
Moslem states stretched from Spain to the
ownking.
Caucasus, an d were by far one of the most dy-
Then, beginning in the 830s, the situatio
namic Of the age. Although separated
changed for the rest of the north. Raiders su
by vast gulfs of land and culture, ever A -
p =
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King Edward King O
ff o Ill Iceland converts Danes b-
Harald Bluetooth,
King of Denmark,
/
King Aethelred
Eirik the Red
discoversGreenland
TrellbOrg
forg/
Kin; Olaf
(Nor,) \ Englis
destr
by tre
baptized the Unready (Eng.) Danes win Svien Forkbeard, V i i s a
battle of King of Denmark, Native Ame
Maldon (Eng.) invades England in Vinlan
enly started appearing along the coasts of the ...- iquerorr

north every year. Dorestad, Sheppey, Con-
During the last half of the 9th Century, raid-
naught, Kent, Antwerp, Rouen, Pans, Ham-
ing was steadily being replaced by conquest.
burg, and a host of other cities and villages
we re pillaged annually. The wo rds o f a Frank- For the Danes, England was the prime target.
ish monk, "From the wrath of the Northm en, Northum bria and East An glia remained under
Viking rule t o become the Danelaw. (Traces of
0 Lord, deliver us, became a familiar plea.
this conquest, particularly in names, still re-
By 860, the Vk in g raiders often wintered ove r
main in Great Britain today.) The kings of
at tow ns they had seized fro m their enemies.
In 865, the Viking terror entered a new
Wessex, though slo wl y uniting the rest of En-
gland, w ere unable to drive out the invaders.
stage. That year, the Viking warlords Half-
Indeed, the Wessex kings were forced to pay
dan, Uni, and the intriguingly named Iv ar the vast sums to the Vikings simply t o keep their
Boneless landed in England at East Anglia.
ow n lands safe. Th is extortion became kno wn
According to legend they came to seek re-
as the Dunegeld, and with each year the price
venge for the death of their father, Ragnar
Lo db rok (Hairy-Breeks), wh o was cast into a grew. The English kings had the choice to p ay
or suffer. Mo st chose to pay.
pit of vipers by the king of Northumbria.
England was not the only target of con-
Wh ate ver their reason, the three brothers did
quest, however. Norse Vikings continued
more than just raid; after looting the region,
their claims in Ireland and eve n expanded into
the Vikings captured York and conquered
parts of Wales and Scotland. In the Frankish
Northumbria and Mercia. The Norsemen
lands, the Danes sailed up rivers to capture
we re there to stay.

between Rome and
Paris and other cities. Gradu ally sia"). The ir ships sailed on the Baltic and
control the lower Seine vdley-
nam ed Gange- Rolf) and Norm an dy was and threaten the once-invincible empire o
Byzantium
Meanwhile, in the east, Swedish Vikings
we re not just seizing lands, they wer e found- The Explorers
ing new empires. The first settlements were
While some took land through conquest
along the coasts of Finland and the Baltic, but
other Vikings discovered new lands to
the adventurous soon turned their North of Scotland, longships beached at the
ships the great rivers Of Gardariki (as the
Orhey nd Shetland Islands. Further out, the
lands of Russia were called). From Staraja La-
Vikings settled the bleak Faeroes, displacing
gods (near and passing through a the few Irish they found there, Then
series Of rivers and lakes, he reached around 860, the Norse a larg
Novgorod. Here they set themselves up as
island far out in the ocean. Forced to winte
thers down the Dvina' then ov er in this land, one settler named it Iceland
the Rus (from which comes


HRE: Holy Roman Empire
- -~ --
settlement of Iceland began in earnest. It so, 1ifi once again grew exciting.
might have been nobles disgruntled with King
Harald Finehair's relentless unification of Nor- Resurgence
way. Perhaps it was overcrowded farmers
searching for new pastures. Whatever the rea- It was almost as if the Vikings, having
sons, ship after ship of settlers from Norway, paused to catch their breath, were now re-
freshed and ready to strike out again. New
the Orkneys, Shetland, Scotland and Ireland
sailed to the Icelandic shore, there to create a waves of invaders struggled for control of En-
gland. At the same time, the Irish, under the
new nation without kings or princes.
leadership of the formidable High King Brian
A Pause Boru, began the long struggle to drive ou t the

Norse invaders. Although the grip of the Vi-
Sometime around the middle of the 10th kings would be broken at the Battle of Clon-
century, relative peace settled over the north. tarf (1014), he task would not be complete f
The Norsemen seemed satisfied with what over 100 years.
they held. The great conquests and fearful In England, the s t r u d e went the ouuosite
raids slackened as the Vikings concentrated way. First Harald Bluetooth, King ;(Den-
on ruling their new lands. New ideas, particu- mark, then his son Svien Forkbeard secured
larly Christianity, were beginning to take hold the Scandinavian grip over the Danelaw. Fi-
on the pagan Scandinavian shores. This nally, Svien's son Cnute seized the ultimate
peacefulness did not last, however. and in the

I the King of England. Shortly thereafter Cnute

added Denmark, then Norway to his list of Viking Targets
possessions. It seemed that all of Scandinavia
and England would be united in a single em- The Vikings were rapacious raiders wl
pire. struck throughout the world. The folloi
Meanwhile, the hardy Icelanders surged ing is a partial list of their targets.
I outward once more. Banished from Iceland
Aix Limerick
f o r three years, Eirik the Red sailed fo r a new
land that a sailor named Gunn-bjorn had A1gec ras Lindisf arne
found by accident over 60 years before. He Angers London
named the place Greenland, since ”. men . Angouleme Luna
would be much more tempted to go there if it Antwerp

Arles Maastricht
Melun
had an attractive name:’ By the mid 980s set-
tlers we re arriving on this new shore. Armagh Nantes
It was one of these settlers who made the Bayeux Narbonne
next discovery of a land even further to the Beauvais Nimes
west. Blown off course, Bjarni Herjolfsson Berda‘a Noirmoutier
sighted a strange shore. Realizing it wasn’t Blois Orleans
Greenland (his true destination), he turned Bonn Oxford
Bordeaux Pampalona
away and never went ashore. That task was
left to Leif Ericsson, a.k.a. Leif the Lucky. Like Bourges Paris
his father Eirik before him, Leif assembled a Canterbury Perigueux
group of settlers and set out for this new Chartes Pisa
wo rld . There he discovered and may have set- Chester
Chippenham Poiters
Quentoric
tled Vinland, battling the Sksaelings (Indians)
for a foothold in t h e new world. Cirencester Quentoric
Cologne Rochester
Constantinople Rouen
Collapse
Dorestad Roussillon
I By this time, though, the Vilung age was
drawing to a close. W ith his death, King Cnu-
Dorset
Evreux
Seville
Snottingham
te’s Scandinavian empire crumbled, once Gloucester Tamworth
again div iding into separate countries. Chris- Holstein Toulouse
tianity was taking hold in the North. Chris- Iona Tours
tian slaughtered Christian in the ruins of the Jarrow Trier
Frankish Empire;
Viking ancestry thedenied
and Normans forsook
harbor their
and safety La Rochelle Ulster
Le Mans Utrecht
to the raiders. The colonies of Greenland and Leicester Valence
Vinland proved to be too far, too isolated. Lichfield Wareham
I Th e tinv Vik ine colo nv in Vinland died out. Liege Waterford
York
to the present day.

throne. Once again Viking invaders landed in any of the various dates given for cities sacke
Northumbria to stake their claim to England. can be turned into a raid the characters pwtic
This time, however, the Saxons were pre- ipate in or defend against. Ibn Fadlan's visit t
pared. King Harold I1 assembled an army and Sweden could be an opportunity for travel o
met his Norwegian counterpart at the little vil- intrigue involving the player characters.
lage of Stamford Bridge outside York. The highlighted sections of the timeline in
dicate suggested dates within the Viking ag
"'King Haro ld has already declared h ow for a campaign setting. The long period from
mu ch o f England he is prepared to grant 830 to about 950, for example, was a particu
him (Harald Hardradi): seven feet of larly active time, filled with conquest and ex
ground or as much more as he is taller ploration. The 30 years that immediatel
than other men."' followed this, on the other hand, were a rela
tively quite period of Viking history and
Or so says Kmg Haral ds Saga. probably less suited to adventuring play.
The battle was fought, but did not go as
Harald Hardradi hoped. Arnor the Earl's-Poet Suggested Reading
had this to say:
Much more can and has been said about th
It was an evil m oment Vikings than these few pages allow space for
W hen Norway's king lay fallen; Not only are there many well-written and en
Go ld inlaid weapons tertaining histories written by everyone from
Brought dea th t o N orway 's leader. wargamers to archaeologists, but the descen
dants of the Vikings themselves left behind
All King Harald's
Preferred warriors
to die beside him, rich collection of work. These are the sagas
Sharing their b rave king's fate entertaining epics filled with heroism, battles
Rather than beg for m ercy. murders, revenge, magic, and even ghosts
Written in a clear, direct style, many of thes
Harald Hardradi had lost and the Vikings sagas have been translated into English and
would threaten England no more. are easily found at specialty book stores.
In a final ironic touch, King Harold of En- Listed here are a few of the many titles to
gland would soon meet his own death on the choose from. Not all are necessarily still in
battlefield at Hastings, brought down by print, but might be found in libraries and use
Duke William of Normandy. With the last of book stores.
the Saxon kings gone, William the Conqueror
was proclaimed King of the English. Thus, he Brent,starting
a good Peter; The Viking
place Saga;
for the This book
general readeri
descendants of the Vikings succeeded where
the Vikings themselves had failed. detailing the major events and accomplish
ments of the Viking Age.
Graham-Campbell, James; T he Vik in
The Timeline
Wo r ld ; Filled with color pictures, maps
The timeline given in this chapter provides drawings, and diagrams, this book describe
indications for specific events of Viking histo- the life and times of the Vikings based on ar
ry or the surrounding lands. These events are chaeological evidence.
both those that were important to the Viking Heath, Ian; The Viking s; One of the Osprey
age and others that can be used as background Elite Series, this slim book is intended primari
for campaigns and adventures. For example,
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to the history of the period, then focuses on ideas €or adventures. Helpful dwarfs, viciou
the arms, armor, battles, and tactics of the berserkers, troll-bo rn, ghost s, magica
warriors. Useful color plates are the highlight swords, healing salves, and powerful spel
of the volume. are all found in its pages.
Jones, Gwyn; A History of the Vikin gs; King Harald's Saga; Telling the story o
Filled with information, this book is just what Harald Hardradi, the last great warrior-kin
it says, a history of the V k n g age written for of Norway, this saga ranges from his fligh
those with a serious, somewhat scholarly in- from Norway through his years as a general i
terest in the period. Constantinople and Sicily to the defeat of th
Pollington, Stephen; The Warrior's Way; Norse at Stamford Bridge in England.
This large and colorful book focuses on a sin- Njal s Saga; This saga of Iceland describe
gle event, the Battle of Maldon, using it as a the course of a 50 year blood-feud to its tragi
springboard to describe life in Viking-age En- end-the burning of Njal and his family
gland. trapped in their house.
Simpson, Jacqueline; Everyday Life in the Seven Viking Romances; In a change from
Viking Ag e; This provides a clear, nuts-and- historical sagas, these seven short tales ar
bolts account of many of the little details of filled with magic and wonder. Characters lik
Viking life. Topics such as dress, food, daily Arr ow- Odd , Thorstei n Mansion-Migh t
work, family, the arts, and society are all cov- Ufkel the Wizard, Stunt-Bosi, and Asmund
ered here. Berserks-Killer adventure as far as Hunland
Permia, and Giantland.
The following books are examples of the The Vinland Sagas; These short sagas tel
many sagas and tales written by Scandinavian the stories of Eirik the Red and Leif the Luck
writers of the Middle Ages, shortly after the and their discoveries and settlements of
close of the Viking age. Some purport to be Greenland and Vinland in North America.
family histories, others ar e the tales of heroes. In addition to these titles, there are numer
All those listed are translated into English and OUS other sagas translated into English. Som
should be available with a little searching. may be easily found, others are more difficul
Sagas are a worthwhile source of inspira- These titles include the Laxdaela Saga
tion (even for non-Viking campaigns). While Orkneyinga Saga, The Saga o f the lomsvik
generally written in a clear, straight-forward ings, Hrafknel's Saga, Eyrbyggju Saga, and
style, inexperienced readers can become con- Grettir's Saga
fused by the abundance of names and events. Finally, those interested in the mythology o
It is suggested that readers first tackle a gen- Scandinavia might want to read Gods and
Myths of the Viking Ag e or the slim
era1 history of the period before launching in- da of Snorri Sturluson. Prose Ed
Egil's Saga; This is the story of Egil Skalla-

3f Characters and Combat
A t the first mention of a Viking campaign, belief allows for many differences betwee
most characters envision bands of unruly, men. Some men and women h ave special ta
barbaric, and savage warriors, setting out on ents that separate them from ordin ary people
bloodthirsty raids to loo t and pillage. V i i s These talents are known as Gifts-a bo on o
are imagined as lewd, crude, and uneducated, curse bestowed by the N o m s (Fates) at th
swilling mead from drinking horns and moment of birth. For some, the No m s hav
pounding the tables with their knives-the wov en a lucky thread in life; others are bo m
medieval equivalent of outlaw bikers. without luck. O nc e these gifts are determined
Som e of them proba bly were-some but there is little a man can d o t o change them.
hardly all. The heroes of the V i k i i sagas N o t all gifts are bestowed by the gods, how
wer e a colorful and varied lot. Of course there ever. Some are the result of the deeds of fa
were warriors-many of them-but their tem- thers, grandfathers, even ancestors. A her
peraments ranged from wild and savage to ma y inherit a fine piece of land or find himse
wise and educated. There were heroes who the target of a bloo d feud. Unlike the gifts o
wer e m ore than just simple warriors. There the gods, though, these can be g ained o r los
were also wild berserkers, wise runecasters, b y the character's bo ld (o r craven) actions.
educated skalds, and the dangerous troll- If a player chooses for his character to b
born. Each of these types had a place in Vi- human, he can check to see if his character ha
king legend and can be a player character role. a Gift. The check is made by rolling ld20 an
The information in this chapter is divided findin g the result on Table 1: Character Gifts
into tw sections. T he first part presents infor- No player is required to make this check
mation on old and new character races and Howeve r, once the player makes the die ro
classes. Th e second section has rules fo r creat- he must accept the result, whether it is fo
ing special background information pertinent good or ill. N o t all results are desireable, an
t o a V i n g cam paign. some players may choose to no t make the ro
rather than risk an unpleasant result. If th
Races in a Viking Campaign player refuses to check for a Gift, he canno
make the attempt in the future.
Th e historical fantasy wor ld of the i s
.'
was a much different place from a standard Table I : Character Ciw. ;
fantasy realm. While the Norsemen had no
doubt that dwarves and elves existed, such Die Roll Gift
creatures wer e n ot a part of their daily lives. 1 Bad Luck
Instead, theirs was a world of men, though 2 Blood feud
darker creatures lurked around the shadow ed 3 Family Outlawed
fringes. 4 Ugly
For player characters, the Viking world of- 5-12 No Gift
fers a-l&ted selection of races. By far and 13 Courage
away, the majority of characters will be hu- 14 Go od Luck
man. Beyond this, a fe w characters may be one 15 Handsome
of the trollb om, a mixture of men and mon- 16 Inheritance
strous troll. Such men are rare and feared. 17 Rune Lore
18 Second Sight
Humans 19 Seer
Th e bulk of characters encountered in a Vi- 20 Title
lung campaign are human. Howeve

Explanation of Character Gifts:

1. Bad Luck. The Norns have drawn the skien
of the character‘s life and he is destined to be if both sides agree to a settlement or-one of th
unlucky. Neither the character nor the gods feuding families is wiped out.
can change this fact. This dioes not mean the 3. Outlawed. The player character’s fathe
character cannot achieve great deeds. It does (typically) and all his kin have been declared
mean that someday, luck will be against the outlaws by a local king or earl. The DM
character and he will die. should determine what province or land thi
In game terms, bad luck causes the player applies to. The player character is a con
character to suffer a 1 penalty on all die demned criminal in this land and will be slain
rolls made with a single type of die. The type on sight if found by the noble’s men.
of die affected can be a d6, d8, d10, or d20. 4. Ugly. The player character is particularly
The penalty comes into effect any time the disfigured in some noticeable way. The char
character attempts an action using the chosen acter suffers a -2 on his Charisma and gain
die, or anytime the DM uses that die to deter- an uncomplimentary nickname.
mine some random event that affects the ill- 5-12.N o Gift.
fated character only. It does not apply to 13.Courage. The player character is noted fo
his pluck. He gains a + 1on all saving throw
THACO and damage rolls made by others
when attacking the player character, but does vs. fear-based attacks.
apply to the unlucky character‘sattacks. 14. Good Luck. The player character is fated
For example, Jon has chosen a d10 as the die by the Norns to be be lucky through all his
for his unlucky character, Asmund Berserks- life. The character gains a +1 o all rolls of a
single die type, chosen by the player. T he af
Killer. Asmund and his friends encounter a
pack of werewolves in the night. The 1 fected die can be a d6, d8, d10, or d20. ust a
modifier is not used when rolling for the with bad luck, the modifier is only applied in
group’s surprise or initiative since the out- situations that affect the lucky character only
come affects more than just Asmund. If As- never to group situations.
mund encountered the werewolves when 15. Handsome. The gods have given the char
alone, the - 1 modifier would be used, reflect- acter exceptional charm and good looks. The
ing Asmunds bad luck. character gains a +1 to his Charisma.
In all cases the - 1 modifier is considered a 16. Inheritance. The character begins with a
penalty to the unlucky character. In the above small bequest from his late father. The playe
example, the penalty is added to Asmunds can either choose to have a small farmstead
initiative, since this is a worse result for him. (which can be used as a base for adventuring)
Even with bad luck, a die roll can never be a k n a a r (a small merchant ship), or five times
modified below 1. the normal starting money allowed his char-
2 . Blood Feud. The character’s family is cur- acter type.
rently involved in a blood feud with an NPC 17. Rune Lore. The character can use one
family. The DM should provide the name and rune, (DMs choice), regardless of class.
some background about the NPC family. En- 18.Second Sight. The character has the gift of
s e c o n d sight. This power is explained in Chap
counters with the feuding NPCs are automati-
ter 4: Rune Magic.
cally hostile (although they may not
19. Seer. The character has the gift of proph-
immediately attack). In addition, the NPC
ecy, both a boon and curse granted by the
family may raid or murder the player charac-
ter‘s family. Typical causes of blood feuds in- gods. Once per day the character can attemp
a prediction just as if he were able to cast a d i v i -
nation spell. However, unless the character is a

runecaster or sorcerer, the chance of a successful lifestyle, most often living as other men. Som
prediction is never greater than 60 . prefer the isolated surr oundi ngs of dee
20. Title. The character is the son of an earl, woods. Others gain a reputation as king
nobleman or chieftain. (The order of prece- champions. Not a few live on rocky island
dence generally follows king, earl, nobleman, practicing sorcerous arts. No matter whe
chieftain, freeman, farmer, and thrall. All they live, the trollborn tend to be secretiv
other characters are assumed to be the chil- and individualistic, rarely bowing to autho
dren of freemen or farmers. Player characters ity. The fearsome reputation of their kin
never begin as thralls.) During his lifetime, the causes common folk to deal with them r
character can make one claim upon his father spectfully or not at all.
fo r a ship and men to go raiding, assuming the Due to their blood, trollbom characters ga
character has not broken with his family. The a +1 to Strength, Constitution, and Intel
su e and quality of the ship and the number of gence. However, they suffer a -1 to Wisdo
men received will depend on the reputation and a -2 on Charisma. The trollborn can b
an d level of the character. A charcter will nev- fighters, rangers, berserkers, runecasters,
er receive less than 10 normal men and a sorcerers (15th level maximum in these classes
knaar (a small merchant ship) or more than 60 The trollborn have infravision (60' ange). Th
normal men and a longship. trollbom are not born with Gifts and cann
roll on the Gifts Table for special powers.
The Trollborn
The trollbom are a feared and respected Character Classes
people. Their blood is half human, half troll. Like character races, the classes available
(The
ent trolls
from of the
those Viking
found world
in the are far differ-
Monstrous Com- a Viking campaign are both a mixture of exis
ing character classes (as described in th
p end ium ) The trollbom are noted for their AD&D@ nd Edition Player's Ha ndb ook) an
strength and cunning. Some become fearsome new character classes described here. Becau
wamors, while others excel in sorcery. Ugly, of the differences between a standard AD&
powerful, and ill-tempered, they are easily campaign and one set in the V h n g world, no
identified from the common human stock. all character classes are available to player
The trollbom are not properly a race like These additions and exclusions are necessar
elves, giants, or dwarves. Others consider to create the appropriate mood for the worl
them human-or mostly human. Although described in the Norse sagas.
trollblood may have been in a family for gen-
erations, only those of the first generation are Classes from the P l a y e m Handbook
considered trollbom. All others are merely In addition to the unique character classe
humans, although their troll ancestry may
taint them in the eyes of others. described in this book, players can als
The trollbom ar e easily identified. They are choose from some of the character classe
almost universally larger than normal men, found in the AD&D 2nd Edition Player
usually much stockier and more muscular. Handbook. However, not all the standar
Some may grow as tall as seven feet in height. character classes are available in a "pure" V
They are seldom handsome and are often king campaign, and other classes may hav
quite ugly. Their temperaments range from special restrictions. These changes and restric
bad to worse, although they do have their tions are listed below, and are also found i
good moods and senses of humor. the Player Information section at the end o
The trollborn have no definite tendencies in
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17/106

legends an d sagas of Scandinavia. These new Table 2: Norse Followers

classes are berserker an d runecaster. Die
warriors Roll Leader Type
01-05 5th level trollbom sorcerer,
In a historical Viking setting, warriors are chain mail, dagger I
the most commonly encountered group of 06-15 5th level trollbom runecaster,
characters. In the legends of the Norsemen, chain mail, sword + I
freedmen of all stations were commonly part- 16-35 5th level human fighter, chain mai
time raiders
sword, spear, and
and so were skilled
sometimes bow. with the
In addi- battlelevel
36-45 6th are +human
2 berserker, shield
tion, the sagas tell tales of exceptional war- sword, battle axe
riors, men noted for their courage, skills, 46-60 6th level human fighter, chain mai
cunning, and even mystical powers. shield I , spear + I
In. a Viking campaign, the Warrior group 61-75 6th level trollbom fighter, shield +1
includes fighters, rangers, berserkers, and battle are 2
runecasters. These last two are unique to the 76-85 6th level human runecaster, chain ma
Viking world and should only be used in such I, pear +I
86-95 7th level human fighter, chain ma
settings. At the other extreme, paladins are
I, hield +I, battle axe 2
not appropriate to a Viking campaign and
96-99 7th level trollbom fighter, ring ma
should not be used without special consider-
+ I , cloak of rotection

Die Roll Troop Type

01-25 60 infantry w/leather armor, shield, 61-90 5 3rd level trollbom runecasters w
and sword; 20 archers w/leather ar- chain mail and halberd
mor and shortbow; 20 infantry w/ 91-99 2 4th level sorcerers w/longship
chain mail and battle axe 00 DMsoption
26-50 50 infantry w/leather armor and
spear; 50 infantry w/chain mail and Pdadins
battle axe
51-75 40 infantry w/studded leather, shield Although the people of the age certainly be
and sword; 2o infantry w/chah mail lieved in the virtues of bravery, honesty, char
and sword; 10 cavalry w/chain mail ity, and goodness, the character class of th
and spear; 10 archers w/leather paladin is not found in the Viking world. Th
and shortbow unique blending of ideals and religious fervo
76-95 70 nfantry w/studded leather, shield, so necessary in the paladin class never foun
and sword; 10 1st level berserkers W ’ expression among the agnostic Norsemen. Be
battle axe; 10 infantry w/chain mail cause of this, true Viking characters cannot b
shield, sword and spear paladins.
96-00 DMs option (100men total) However, paladins can exist in the game, a
beit under exceptionally rare circumstance
battle axe
1 fighters w/chain mai

vout Saxon, a peer of Charlemagne's realms, Kveld-Ulf, the count's host, so the king quick
or a knight of Spain. Like all foreigners, pala- ly finds the count guilty of murder. However
dins will encounter difficulties and prejudices because he is a nobleman of great valor, King
when dealing with the people of Scandinavia. Harald only demands a heavy weregeld (a
Language. The paladin cannot choose Old payment made to compensate for the deaths)
Norse as his native tongue. Instead, his first
,r
language must be the tongue and dialect of his Rangers
homeland. While the character can learn Old
The Scandinavians were primarily a rura
Norse (which was spoken by all of Scandina-
people, freeborn farmers and sailors. There
via), his speech will always be marked, to a
fore, the tracking and woods-lore skills of a
greater or lesser degree, by a noticeable
ranger are known and useful to the people of
accent. the land. However, true rangers, with thei
Religion Much of Scandinavia was pagan knowledge of secret powers, are rare. Indeed
throughout the Viking period. However, ad-
their magical abilities would make rangers
herence to any deity's belief was loose, at best.
feared by common folk who have little use o
Although they were not religious fanatics,
love for the dangerous magical arts.
some people may not care for the faith es-
In the Viking campaign, rangers, like pala
poused by the paladin. The paladin may have
dins, are outsiders. They are Lapps, Kare
a difficult time finding a church or follower of
lians, Kvenir, or other people more skilled in
his own religion. the mystical arts. Only rarely are Norsemen
Land and Property. Foreigners were not al-
rangers, those few taught their secret magica
lowed to hold land. They were never consid-
arts by Lapp wizards.
ered landholders and so did not get the rights
(or duties) of this class. In a Viking
remain campaign,
unchanged. Onlymost rangerability
the class abilitie
to
Slavery. Since the paladin is a foreigner, he
attract followers is different. Instead of using
can be captured and sold as a slave, should
Table 19: Ranger's Followers in the Player's
anyone want to try.
H a n d b o o k . rangers should determine thei
Law. As a foreigner, the paladin is not fully
protected by the customary laws and legal
proceedings of the Vikings. The characters
are, of course, expected to abide by local law
and custom, bu t d o not have the same rights
as Vikings. The amount of rights and protec-
tion a foreigner receives depends on his stat- Constitution 1 4
ure, the offense committed, and who among Charisma 13
the Vikings ar e his friends and enemies. Prime Requisites: Strength, Constitution
For example, Count Ercangar, a paladin Allowed Races: Human, Trollborn
from the Frankish court (modern-day France),
is the guest of Kveld-Ulf, a chieftain in Nor- One of the character classes unique to a Vi
way. While traveling, the count is attacked by king campaign is the berserker. Berserkers are
retainers of Harek, who has a feud with fearsome warriors who, in the heat of battle
Kveld-Ulf. The count wins the battle, killing tap powerful but dangerously unpredictabl
several men. Harek is naturally unhappy and battle lusts. These wild passions liken them to
takes his case to King Harald Finehair, ruler of savage beasts: indeed, the most powerful ber
Norwav. Unfortunatelv for Count Ercannar, serkers can actually shapechange into anima
King Harald as his reasons o

Old Icelandic sagas have many mysterious magic. If the save is successful, the charact
references to berserkers. The most heroic of reaches the berserk state. If failed, the chara
all these was probably Bodva r Biarki, one of ter has not managed to reach the wil d ment
the great champions of King Hrolf of Den- state needed to go berserk. He can continu
mark. Powerful and fearless, Bodvar Biarki making attempts for up to ten consecuti
cou ld become a m agical bear-spirit to fight at rounds. At the end of the tenth round, th
the head of King Hrolf's armies. character autom atically succeeds. T h e berser
Berserkers are members of the warrior state has several benefits:
group. They share with the fighter, paladin Strength. Th e berserker's Strength increas
and ranger the com mon features of the war- b y 2 points to a maximum of 19. O v e r 18, pe
rior group-hit dice, weap ons, armor, and at- centile Strengths increase b y one category fo
tacks per round. They advance in level at the ev er y extra point, thus on ly character's wit
same rate as a palad in or ranger. Th eir princi- an 18 (91) or greater Strength can attain 19
ple attributes are Strength, Constitution and The character gains all bonuses (THACO
Charisma. A berserker can be go od , neutral, damage, weight allowance, etc.) for his in
or evil, but must be chaotic in alignment. creased Strength.
W hi le they are often loyal, trustworthy, and Hit Points. T h e berserker instantly gain
noble, berserkers have a w ild and willful na- tw o additional hit points fo r eve ry level. Th
ture that leaves them alwa ys unpredicatable. hit points gained do not heal existing wounds
A berserker wh o has Strength and Consti- they are simply add ed to the character's cu
tution of 16 or greater gains a 10% bonus to rent total. These additional hit points ca
all experience points earned. cause the character's tota l t o exceed the nor
A berserker
available
can use any arms or armor
to him (provided the item exists in
mal maximum the character is allowed .
Armor Class. Th e berserker's base armo
the setting). Howev er, although he can use class improves b y 1 or e ve ry level o f the cha
any weapon, he does not begin with as many acter, to a maximum of AC 0. This adjustmen
weapo n proficiencies as a normal warrior. In- is t o the character's norma l unarmored ratin g
stead of 4 initial weapon proficiencies, the A 5th level berserker fighting without armo
berserker has on ly 2. Thereafter, weapon pro- would have an armor class of 5. This armo
ficienicies are gained at the norm al rate. Ber- class adjustment can be co mbin ed with mod
serkers cannot use proficiency slots fo r pu rely fications for Dexterity, magical items, spells
missile weapons. For exam ple, a berserker can and shields. This bonus does not ap ply if th
be proficient in spear, since it can be used in character is wearing armor. In this case, th
melee, but cannot spend slots to learn short- armor's AC i s used, not that created by th
bow or sling. It is not in their savage natures berserk fury. A 10th level berserker in chai
to figh t at a distance. mail would still have an AC of 5 when he en
U berserkers have the ability to "go ber- tered into his berserk rage. Note that a ber
serk," to enter into a wild frenzy that increases serker is not prevented from wearing armor
their effectiveness in battle. The frenzy is not either in normal com bat or when berserk, bu
autom atic; the character cannot turn it on at wearing armor negates this benefit.
will. A berserker must spend one rou nd work- Charms. W hi le berserk, the character gain
ing himself into a frenzy, during which h e can a + 2 to all saving throws vs. charms or men
take n o other action. (Th e sagas describe ber- tal-based attacks.
serkers biting their shields and howling like In addition to the benefits, the berserk fur
wi ld animals.) A t the end of the round, the has several special limitations and conse
berserker makes a saving throw vs. death quences. Ma n y of these reflect the savage an

unpredictable nature of berserkers. fore this time, it instantly ceases.

Single-Mindedness. Once a character goes As soon as the character stops being ber
berserk, he must enter melee combat with the serk, he must make another saving throw vs
enemy. Though the berserker can pick and death. If the saving throw is successful, the
choose his targets, he cannot hang back from character is unaffected by his fury. Should he
battle. If he does, the berserk fury leaves him fail the saving throw, the berserker is immedi
within two rounds. ately drained and exhausted. The character's
Once in combat, a berserk character cannot Strength is reduced by 5 (from its normal non
change opponents until the current foe is ei- berserk state) and remains reduced until the
ther slain or flees and cannot be pursued. For character has time to rest. Strength recovers a
example, Agnar the Berserk is at the forefront the rate of 1point per turn of rest. The charac
of the battle, fighting the standard-bearer of ter cannot again attempt to go berserk unti
the Saxons. Suddenly, one of Agnar's com- his Strength has returned to its normal level.
panions calls out for aid. Although Agnar is The berserker character also gains othe
close at hand, he cannot break off to help his abilities as he increases in level. It is these abil
friend since all his effort is focused on defeat- ities that truly inspire supernatural dread in
ing the standard-bearer. Agnar's only options simple folk, for they are beyond normal ex
are to quickly defeat his opponent or retreat planation. They are as follows:
from battle (which has its ow n consequences). A berserker can shapec han ge into a wolf a
The restriction on changing opponents applies fourth level. He can use this power once pe
only after the berserker has actually entered week. The berserker's hit points, THACO
into combat. If not actually engaged in melee, number of attacks, and saving throws remain
the character can move and attack whomever unchanged. However, the berserker gains the
he chooses. movement, a rmor class, and damage of a wolf
Retreat. Once a berserker has entered his ( M V 18, AC 7, Damage 2-5). The characte
battle fury he cannot retreat from combat receives no bonuses for Strength and canno
without breaking the delicate psychological go berserk while in wolf form. Th e character
state that generates his power. If the berserk can understand human speech, but canno
character withdraws from combat, routs, or is communicate back without magical means
forced to retreat, the berserk fury immedi- He can understand and speak the language of
ately ends. wolves while shapechanged. This knowledg
Loss of Powers. As soon as the berserk rage is lost upon transforming back.
ends, all powers gained (increased Strength, The berserker's shape change is not lycan
hit points, armor class and charm resistance) thropy; it is a power bestowed upon him by a
vanish. All damage suffered is taken from the totem animal. His bite has no special power
temporary hit points first. Only after all these he does not heal damage when changing form
hit points are lost does the character suffer ac- the moon has n o effect and he is vulnerable to
tual wounds. normal weapons. The transformation takes
Exhaustion. Going berserk is a voluntary one round to effect and the berserker's clothe
action; the player can choose to end it at any are gear are not transformed with him.
time. (It can also fail involuntarily shoud the The berserker can shapechange in to a cave
character fail to enter combat or retreat from bear at 7th level. The berserker can assume
battle.) However, berserking can be physi- bear form (and change back again) once pe
cally draining. The character can only remain week. Like the wolf form, this is a totem abili
berserk for a number of rounds equal to his tv reflecting the berserker's increased Dower
Constitution. If he has not ended the rage be-
no disease is transmitted, the moo9 d o e s no
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force changes, and no special immunities or class is equal to that of the character if he were
healing are gained. While in bear form, the ber- berserk and unarmored. The spirit form also
serker retains his hit points, THACO and saving shares the berserker's +2 saving throw 'bonus
throws. In bear form, the berserker moves 12, vs. mental attacks. The berserker sees, heals,
has an armor class of 6, and can make 3 attacks feels, and senses normally through the spirit
per round. These attacks do ld6/ld6/ld8 form. Damage suffered by the spirit form is
points of damage. f either paw hits with a roll done to the berserker, as are all magical attacks
of 18 or better, the berserker can hug for an ad- (charms, etc.). The spirit form cannot naturally
ditional 2d12 points of damage. communicate with other humans (or trollborn)
Berserkers attract followers upon attaining but does understand the speech of similar ani-
9th level. Those willing to serve the berserker mals and can speak to them.
are few, but noteworthy. The berserker will The spirit form can only be created once per
attract ld4 +1 heroes. Roll on the leaders sec- day. The spirit form remains for a number of
tion of Table 2: Norse Followers. These fol- turns equal to the berserker's wisdom. The
lowers are fanatically loyal to the berserker, spirit form and the berserker are inexorably
willing to stand by him even to the death. linked. Any damage taken by the spirit form
The berserker can shape-journey (hamfarir) is transfered to the berserker as soon as the
at 12th level. A shape-journey is when the trance ends. If the spirit form is slain, the ber-
character sends his spirit out into the world in serker dies. The character can voluntarily end
the form of an animal, typically a raven, wolf, the trance at any time and it automatically
bear, or bull (but never as a horse). To shape- ends if the character is shaken, attacked,
journey, the berserker must place himself in a roughly disturbed.
deep trance. During the shape-journey he can- Creating the spirit form is even more dra
not be disturbed and is not aware of events ing than berserking. At the end of the trance,
around him. One turn after entering the the character must make a saving throw vs.
trance, the berserker's spirit form appears death with a -4 penalty to his roll. If success-
within 100 yards of the character. After this, ful, he has avoided any weakening effects. If
the spirit form can move any distance from failed, the berserker's Strength and Wisdom
the character. This spirit form is always that are reduced by half. Lost points are regained
of an animal. Typical spirit forms are listed at the rate of 1per hour of rest. Strength is
below. regained first, then Wisdom. Characters are
not required to rest immediately, but do not
Berserker Hamfadr Summary regain any points until they do so.
Berserkers gain experience according to the
Form MV #ATDam.
Bear 12 3 ld6/ld6/ld8 guidelines
the warriorgiven in the
group. Player's Handbook
In addition for
to the experi-
Bull 15 2 ld8/ld8
ence awards already listed, berserkers can
Falcon 36 3 1/1/1
earn an individual experience point award for
Raven, huge 18 1 ld4+2
initiating combat. This award is worth 200 ex-
Wolf 18 1 2d4
perience points. The berserker character must
be the one who leads his side into battle before
The spirit form s an actual physical presence.
the foes attack. Furthermore, the award is not
The shape created can only be detected as magi-
given if it was clear from the star t of the en-
cal by those with frue seeing or second sight.
counter that both sides intended to fight.
The spirit form has the hit points, saving
For example, an evil troll has been terroriz-
throws, and THACO of the berserker. Its armor
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one away. The group, including Kveld-Ulf the normally available to warriors. However
Berserker, spends the night in the hall so that the runecaster never gains any bonus hi
when the monster appears, they can slay it. points normally due for high Constitution
The troll appears at the door and Kveld-Ulf scores.
leads the attack. Since combat was inevitable, Runecasters possess the knowledge o
Kveld-Ulf will not gain the experience award runes, magical words that when used properl
in this case. generate or release special powers. Althoug
However, if the same group were facing a they seem like spells (because they have magi
company of trolls, things would be different. cal effects), runes are very different. Th
The trolls outnumber Kveld-Ulf's group and source of all runes is the god Odin. Rune
are well-armed. The Viking group leader is must be learned, but are not memorized an
uncertain if they should fight, talk, or retreat. forgotten like spells. There is no limit to th
Fed u p with the indecision, Kveld-Ulf gives a number of times a rune can be used in a singl
bloodthirsty shout and charges the monster day. However, runes are difficult and compl
In this case, Kveld-Ulf would earn the experi- cated. Casting a rune is time-consuming an
ence award. may result in nothing but failure. Lastly,
character's selection of runes is severely lim
ited. Complete information on runes, how
they are used, and what they do is found i
ility Requirements: Strength 11
Chapter 4: Rune Magic.
Intelligence 14
In addition to his fighting ability, a firs
Wisdom 15
level runecaster begins the game knowing tw
me Requisites: Intelligence, Wisdom
runes. These runes are assigned by the DM
aces Allowed: Human, trollborn and are never chosen by the player. N o chec
is made to see if the character can learn thes
Runecasters are rare and fearsome war-
runes; it is assumed he has mastered that com
riors. Although skilled in battle, their formi-
plicated art. Within the limits of rune-castin
dable power springs from their understanding
and the runes available, the character can us
of runes, ancient formulae that tap mystical
his knowledge at any time he feels appropr
powers. This combination of sword and mag-
ate. Thereafter, each time the character ad
ic makes them powerful allies and dangerous
vances in level, he has the opportunity t
foes.
attempt to learn a new rune. Success is not au
Though they are infrequent, warriors with
tomatic and a character can only make the a
the power to wr ite magical runes do appear
tempt when he reaches a new level. Th
in the old Icelandic tales. Perhaps the most
famous runecaster was Egil Skallagrimsson, chance to learn the It
acter's Intelligence. rune is based
is the onthat
same as the need
cha
hero of Egil's Sag a. Descendant of the famous
ed to learn a new spell. If the check
berserker Kveld-Ulf, Egil was a strong and
succeeded, the character can add the rune t
hot-tempered man, skilled in runes and poet-
his list of those already known. If it is failed
ry. the character can never learn that particula
Although they possess magical abilities,
rune, regardless of how high in level he rises
runecasters a re members of the warr ior
As with the initial runes, the DM has fin
grou p. T hey fight and save like warriors. Ex-
say over the knowledge gained. He may allo
perience is earned as a warrior and they ad-
the player to pick the desired rune or offer th
vance in levels as a ranger or paladin. They
character a limited selection. Furthermore, th
are allowed to use all those magical items
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book DM can either allow the rune to leap unbid
24/106

den into the character's min d with out prior ex- eigners. Those wanting to learn the magica
perience or study; or he can require the char- arts often went to the Lapps, Finns, Scots, o
acter t o find someone wh o w ill teach him the Irish to learn their secrets. Up on return, suc
difficult art of form ing the rune. There are no sorcerors were viewed with suspicion an
books of rune magic to study from fear. Thus, wizards must either come from o
As noted before , a character can only learn have studied extensively in foreign lands-
a ne w rune when he rises in leve l. Un like spells particularly Finland, Lapland, the Hebrides
(which can be learned anytime the character Miklagard (Constantinople), or Araby. No
discovers a n ew one), a character cannot try surprisingly, wizards of all stripes often had
to 'learn" a rune simply because he has seen it. ve ry lo w status.
Runecasting is a mystical art; it cannot simply Not all types of magic were known, eit
be m emorized b y rote. Even if the character
knows o f the rune's existence, he must wait f or
a new level befo re attempting to understand that can appear are listed belo w:
its intricacies. Conjurer
Because of their more ominous reputations, Diviner
runecasters d o no t attract large bodies of fol-
lowers. Upon attaining 9th level, the reputa-
tion of the runecaster is such that a certain
number of men will follow his banner. Like
the hphter, he determines those wh o stand by For those D M s striving for an "authenti
him using the Norse Followers Table. Unlike
the fighter, he on ly attracts half the number
listed (fractions rounded up). Those wh o d o NPC, be kept to a minimum. O f the few tha
attend him are no less loy al f or all this. do appear, the majo rity of these should be D i
viners or Necromancers. Specialist mage
Wizard should automatically suffer a -2 on all en
Although magic and wondrous events counter reactions with those aware of th
aboun d in the sagas and romances of the Vi- character's repuation.
king age, the style of magic is seldom like that
Furthermore, spells of Alteration, Jnvoc;
found in the AD &D @ 2nd Edition rules. Th e tion, and Evocation are almost complete1
Vikings operated by different understandings nonexistent. The few wizards that do ap
of magic. Runes and supernatural agencies use subtle methods, not the powerful
play ed an important part, while the stereotyp- flash y damage-causing spells.
ical robed wizard was seldom seen. Organized Priests

wiza rd colleges, guilds, magical supply shops,
and other conventions sometimes assumed in Like the wizard, the standard A D & D gam
an A D & D campaign simply did not exist. interpretation of the priest is po or ly suited t
Likewise, scrolls, spellbooks, and other such the world o f the Vikings. T he powers wielded
written material we re not native to Scandina- by AD&D game priest characters bear littl
via. Runic writing was used for memorial resemblance t o those described in Scandinavi
markers and runecasting, both of which in- an tales. Therefore, uriest characters (ewe .~
vo lv ed the invoking of special divine power. cially Christian priests), though retainin
Howev er, a fe w wizards did exist. Like the their spell-casting abilities, must be careful11
paladin, these sorcerors were always for-

Player-character priests who follow Norse AD&DB game thief chara cters and those
deities must consult the Legends and Lore found in the Viking campaign are the abilities
tome for available spell spheres. to open locks and find and remove traps. Vi-
Of course, this does not mean there were no king thieves do not gain these powers because
priests during the Viking age. Historically the characters would not have had experience
speaking, both followers of pagan beliefs and with these items. Locks were rare, and even
the expanding Christian influence were found. those that existed were simple and primitive
Among the Vikmgs, however, religion was of- affairs. Likewise, the practice of trapping
ten viewed as a personal matter. The gods chests or treasures was unknown, so again
were viewed as patron deities, to be dealt with there was no opportunity to learn the craft.
by each man on his own. More often than not, To compensate for the loss of these abiliti
each man was his own priest. Viking thieves instead gain the ability t o open
In those cases where a man was given the barred doors. While locks were rare, barring
title of priest, the job was as much political as doors was not . With this ability, the thief can
religious(if not more so). For example, in Ice- use a number of tricks and tools (such as thin
land, the priests (godi or g o d a r ) functioned as pieces of wood or a sword blade) to silently
chieftains. They ruled over districts, kept lift or slide the bar out of place-when the
households of warriors, judged the court cases thief is on the wrong side of the door This is
of those living in their district, and attended not a Strength-based rating; it is a percentage
the Athing (national assembly), in addition to chance (that can be improved) like other thief
seeing that the proper rituals were performed abilities. All Viking thieves begin with a base
and the sacred grounds protected. The posi- 10% chance of success in this area. A high
tion of godi was not one a character could Dexterity does not improve this skill, , . ,
simply choose. Instead the godi received his ti- ' 4-
tle by right of his bloodline, the respect of his Bards

- _. .
neighbors, and the wealth he possessed. A Known to the Vikings as skalds, bards were
poor man claiming to be the godi is as likely as respected and honored members of the com
a hobo announcing himself Emperor of the munity. As stated before, the Vikings were not
World. all uncouth barbarians. They placed great
store in poets, developing poetry to a fine art
Rogues It was common for kings and nobles to sup-
port and protect skalds-and the poets were
The Vikings were not all heroic warriors
naturally expected to sing their lo rd s praises
and bloodthirsty berserkers. The tales are
Skalds were poets and storytellers. They
filled with accounts of murder a nd theft,
entertained by reciting verses, often com-
along with more noble descriptions of famed posed on the spot. Without a written language
poets accompanying kings into battle. Thus,
(runes were not used to write down poetry)
both thief a nd bard characbers are perfectly
the skalds memorized their work and passed i
acceptable in a Viking campaign.
on by reciting it to others. Their poems are
filled with fanciful allusions known as k e n
Thief
nings, a poetic description of a person o
As noted above, not every Viking was hon-
thing. For example, an axe would be called a
est and true. Viking thieves, while not com-
"wood-griever" or "wound-wolf," while a
mon, can and did exist-although not without
warrior might be an "enemy of trolls," "paint
modification to reflect the time period.
er of the wolf's tooth," or "feeder of ravens."
The greatest difference between standard
The skalds audience was expected to know
26/106

these kennings, and their complexity and

word-play would a dd to the beauty and skill Colorful Kennings
of the poem.
If proficiencies are used in the campaign, all When running skald characters, players and
skald characters must reserve one slot for Po- DMs may want to brighten the characters’
stories with poetic expressions appropriate to
etry (Slots: l, Relevant Ability: Intelligence;
class. The kennings (word-plays) below may
Check Modifier: -2). Whenever the skald at- just what’s needed to add that bardic tou
tempts to entertain, he must make a poetry
proficiency check to see if he can master the Arrows-wound-bees
difficult kennings. Axe-wound-wolf, wound-griever
Battle-clash of the valkyrie, gam
Of course, poetry was not the only form of
entertainment. Musical instruments were storm, storm
Beer-pool of metal
of malt, sea of the ho
known, but were not valued as highly as the Blacksmith-pole of iron
spoken word. Harping, in particular, was a Blood-arrow-dew, milk of corp
popular entertainment. swords
Before a Viking skald can gain the use of Drinking horn-aurochs spear
magical spells (as described in the Player’s Eagle-battle-crane, vulture of bat
Han dbook) he must first have the opportunity Earth-fjord of the heather
to learn this art. This can only be done in a Farm land-sorrow of oxen
foreign land (such as Ireland), since the Vi- Fire-terror of the birch
Generous-hostile to gold
kings did not have these magical traditions.
Gold-arm-fire, fire of the wave
New player characters have not yet had the
moon of the sea, river-fire
opportunity to travel, and so cannot begin
knowing a ny spells. Head-helmet-crag
Hearth-stone-table of fire
Hot iron-gold of the fire
Other Details King-giver of rings, land-demander
Of course, a race and class are far from all Man-Odin’s oak, shield-wood, tree of
Poetry--giant’s drink mead of Odin, Odin‘s $
that define a player character o r NPC. Other
theft
features-sex, name, age, homeland, and so- Sea-belt of the earth, plain of seals
cial status-are nearly or equally as impor- Shield-spear-cloud
tant. Since a Viking campaign is not the Ship-sea-king’s horse, sea-king’s ski, sea-stee
standard fantasy world, the differences and Silver-snow
effects of all these choices need t o be consid- Sky-wind-bowl
ered. Snake-thong of the heather, valley-fis
Spear-flying
Sword-glory thorn
of battle, hilt-wand, war-flam
Sex
Th e first impression most players will have
concerning Viking characters is that it is a
world of men. Bold Viking men stand at the
prow of their ships, men fight in battles, men
explore the world. Meanwhile, women stay
home to sew, weave, and tend the farm. In-
deed, women are often imagined as virtual
servants of their husbands and fathers.
As with all things, part of this picture is cor-


rect and part is just fancy. It is true that men hard time accepting terms from a wom an war
d all the things mentioned above. There are rior, and Moorish knights are apt to find th
ew accounts of women warriors or explor- whole situation intolerable.
bu t in the Viking world these things were In the end, players and DMs should neve
mpossible Aud the Deep-Minded, queen shy from playing a female character-espe-
ublin, moved her entire household to Ice- cially not on the basis of "it's not a woman
land after the death of her husband. There she role." Instead, they should consider the specia
claimed an d ran an estate large enough to sup- considerations and social obstacles that migh
port 80 farmers. In Scandinavia, women had arise as challenges and opportunities to hav
ar more rights and responsibilities than true role-playing encounters.
eighboring England or the Frankish Empire.
Under Viking tradition, women had many Names
ghts. They could own property and inherit Once a character has chosen a particula
lands. Women were expected to manage sex, a name can be chosen appropriate to tha
everything in the household, and wives often sex. Of course, players and DMs can choos
supervised the estates while the husband was whatever name they wish, but some of the V
gone. With such a warlike people, there were king feel will be lost if "Fred the Viking" i
many widows who kept the family farms and used. The Viking campaign will be much mor
made them prosper. A woman had the right to convincing if characters have authentic V
divorce her husb and . (He, of course, also had king-sounding names. To do that, though,
the same right.) helps to know how Vikings were named.
Women served as priestesses to pagan gods Scandinavians of the time went by only on
and
theywere
werefrequently
not allowedskilled inlawsuits
to file magic. Though
or take name, used.
rarely a personal name.
Of course, Surnames
problems were
arose; howver
di
part in the thing (the governing assembly), one tell the three Thorolf's of the village apart o
their influence over the men handling such whether someone meant the Thorolf living i
matters w as great. Many sagas tell of blood- Trondlag or the Thorolf in Hordaland? Th
feuds stirred up or sustained by the u r g i n g s of problem was solved in several ways.
a woman. A woman might even work deadly The most common was to add a patronym
revenge on the slayer of a kinsman. ic-"father's name"-to the end of the name
Still, women warriors were rare, and truly Thus, Tho rolf, son of Har ald, becam
exceptional. There is no doubt that by cus- Thorolf Haraldsson. This type of nicknam
tom, women stayed home and saw to the could be made by adding "son" or "sson" t
households and property. For female player the father's name. (Women tended not to car
characters in a Viking campaign, this means y their father's name.) On occasion, the per
that though their presence as adventurers (es- son was indicated by his home, i.e., Thorol
pecially warriors) is recognized as their right, of Trollwood, but place names like this wer
it might raise more than a few eyebrows. not as common.
Those more traditionally-minded may view it Another popular method of naming was t
as improper or unseemly, while the broad- give the person a descriptive nickname based
minded are ap t to consider it unusual but not on some quality or deed. Judging from nick
necessarily inappropriate. names, Vikings apparently had quite a sens
The female player character is likely to have of humor. Besides obvious nicknames lik
problems when dealing with NPCs from other "the Short" or "the Tall," less complimentar
lands, where the rights of women are not as ones like "Snake-in-the-Eye" or "the Braggart
well established. Frankish nobles may have a

also appeared. Furthermore, nicknames were acters at such an early age. However, charac-
sometimes ironic, entirely opposite from the ters who leave home after age eighteen have
truth-Thorolf the Short could actually be certainly earned the uncomplimentary nick
quite tall name "Coal-Chewer "
As is true with all nicknames, the person
bearing the moniker generally has little choice omeland \,
in what he is called. His friends (he hopes ) Another important part of each charac
and companions give him the nickname that background is where he hails from. Tho
suits him best. Players may also take this ap- all were considered Vikings, there was
proach, letting their characters earn their great bond between Danes, Swedes, or any of
the other Viking nations. Giving each charac
ter a home province adds to the role-playing
interaction.
Players and DMs can choose whatever age Unless several separate groups a re going to
they desire for their characters. Traditionally, be playing in the same campaign world, the
a Vikmg youth was considered an adult at the DM should probably assume that all charac
age of twelve, although it was common for ters start from the same general region. This i
him to remain at home for a few more years. certainly true with beginning characters. It is
In The Saga o f t h e Jornsvikings, Vagn Akason not likely that a group of beginning heroes
who had killed three men by the age of nine, happens to include a Dane from Jutland, an
joined the warrior brotherhood (the Jomsvik- Icelander, two Swedes, and a Rus. Where did
ings) at the age of twelve. they all meet and how did they get together?
Players are not required to begin their char-
The mixing of nationalities should wait unti
30/106

W i n g Names Hak Hunthjof

Haki Hymling
To assist players and DMs in naming their
Hakon Idmund
characters, lists of names (divided by sex) and
Halfdan Illugi
nicknames are presented here. The DM can
Hamal Imsigull
photocopy these lists for use in his campaign.
Hamdir Ingjald
Harald Ivar
Men’s Names
Harek Jarnskeggi
Aella Fjolmod Hauk Jokul
Agdi Fjolvar Havard Jormunrek
Agn=
Alrek Fjori
Franmar Hedin
Heidrek Ketil
Kjar
An Freki Heimir Knui
Angantyr Fridleif Helgi Kol
Aran Frithjof Herbjorn Krabbi
h o d Frodi Herthjof Kraki
Arnfinn Frosti Hervard Leif
Amgrim Fyri Hildigrim Melnir
Asmund Gardar Hjalm-Gunnar Neri
Atli Gauk Hjalmar Odd
Auda Gauti Hjalprek Olaf
Bard Gautrek Hjorleif Olvir
Barri Geirmund Hiorolf Orkning
Beiti Geirrod Hiorvard Om
Bild Geirthjof Hlodvard Otrya
Bjarkmar Gilling Hlodver Ottar
Borgar Gjuki Hlothver Raevil
Bosi Glammad Hodbrodd Raknar
Brand Gothorm Hogni Ref
Brynjo Granmar Hoketil Rennir
Budli Grettir Holmgeir Rodstaff
Bui Grim Hosvir Rolf
Drott Grimhild Hraerek Runolf
Eddval Gripir Hrafknel Saemund
E d Grundi Hrani Sigmund
Einar Gudmund Hreggvid Sigurd
Eirik Gunnar Hring Sinfjotli
Eitil Gunnbjorn Hroar Sirnir
ET Gust Hrodmar Sjolf
Eylimi Guthorm Hroi Skuli
Eyolf Hadding Hrolf Skuma
Eystein Haeming Hrollaug Slagfid
Fafnir Hafgrim Hrosskel Smid
Fin nbo i Hagal Hrotti Snaeulf
Hundinz Snaevar

Women's Names Nicknames

Hrafnhild Absent-Minded Old
Hrodrdod Arrow-Odd One-Hand
Alof Ingibjorg Bag-Nose Peaceful
Arnora Ingigerd Bare-Legs Peacock
Asa Isgerd Belly-Shaker Pilgrim
Aslaug Kara Berserks-Killer Pin-Leg
Aud Kolfrosta Black Powerful
Bekkhild Kostbera Blind Proud
Bera Lofnheid Blood-Axe Prow-Gleam
Bestla Lofthaena Bold Red
Bodvild Lyngheid Brave Serpent-Tongue
Borghild Nauma Breast Rope Showy
Borgny Oddrun Bull-Bear Silk-Beard
Brynhild Olvor Buttered-Bread Skinflint
Busla Ragnhild Crow Skull-Splitter
Dagmaer Saereid Deep-M n ded Sleekstone-Eye
DaWY Sigrid Dueller Smooth-Tongue
Edda Sigrlinn Easterner Snake-in-the-Eye
EhY Silksif Fair Southerner
Eyfura Sinrjod Feeble stout
Fjotra Skjalf Fetter-Hound Stubborn
Freydis Svanhvit Finehair Tit-Bit
Gdumvor Swanhild Fish-Hook Unruly
Geirrid Sylgia Flat-Nose Wealthy
Gjaflaug Thjodhild Flayer Wartooth
Grimhild Thorgerd Fosterer Whelp
Groa Thorunn Good White
Gudrid Throa Gossip Wry-Mouth
G u h Thurid Grey-C1 Wry-Neck
Gullrond Tofa Hairy-Breeks Xxx's-Bane
Halldis UM Hairy-Cheek Xxx's-Killer
Hallfrid Vaetild Hard-Mouth Yeoman
Hallveig Yrsa Horse-Head

Hekja (Scot) Hot-Head
Helga Hunter
Herborg Keen-Eyed
Herkja Lean
Hervor Little
WdlgUM Long Leg
Hildirid Lucky
Hjordis Mansion-Might
Hjotra Night-Sun
Hleid Noisv

the characters reach higher levels when rea- begin as slaves (since this makes adventurin
sonable explanations can be provided. A difficult) and only those who have the appro
henchman from the Hebrides (Scotland) may priate Gift are the sons of chieftains, godar,
become a player character (to replace a fallen princes.
the AD&D@ ame rules. The following prof

ciencies are not available, for cultural or hi
anelaw (England, after 865) torical reasons:
heraldry
riding, airborne
Iceland (after 870) spellcraft
Ireland (after 820) forgery
charioteering
cultures
guage-Old spoke essentially
Norse. Thus, for the same
Viking lan
chara
~.
ters, this serves as the common tongue.

addition, the languages of surrounding land
in this general area. For example, the may be useful to the player characters. Cha
acters with the omor tu nit v to learn addition
al languages can-(se the skpli fi ed list bel
Gaelic (Ireland)
ore, it is reasonable for the initial char- Saxon (England)
to hail from Stad, More, Gaulardale, Slavic (Russia)
d, or other nearby districts. Thereafter French (Franks)
aracters are assumed to have family and Latin (the Church)
Arabic (Moors)
Greek (Byzantium)
lthough the bulk of the Vikings were free As noted, this list is simplified, ignorin
means-neither poo r nor overly ricA (unless essary complication to the experience of rol
the character has benefited from a Gift during
playing. 33/106

He w h o wou ld read the sacred runes

given by the gods,
that O din set dow n
and the sage stained w it h color,
is well advised to waste no words.
- ayings o f the High One
No rdi c magic can be roughly divided into two

different groups. There is the normal type of
magic, reflected b y the wizards and spells of
the A D & P game system, practiced by or
learned from foreigners. The second type is
rune magic, peculiar to the Nordic lands.
Rune magic is vastly different from the nor-
mal A D & D game system of memorization
and spells.
What Are Runes?

Runes are an ancient form of writing used
througho ut Scandinavia. Th e stick-like letters
are easily carved with a knife, a tool every
man and woman common ly carried. A piece
of w oo d, shaved flat on one side, commonly
served as a "tablet." Runes were carved into process, since such runes were highly secre
w o o d and stone, and used fo r things such as and hard to master. Not everyone could us
charms, contracts, boundary markers, and magical runes, only those wh o had taken th
memorial stones. time to master this difficult art. This is be
Thus the Vikings had their own written lan- cause magical runes were ancient secrets tha
guage and were n ot illiterate. However, runic came from Odin. Even Odin suffered trying t
script had its limitations. Most important learn the secret words, as this ancient text in
(and what made the Scandinavians seem illit- dicates:
erate) was that onl y short messages could be
written using this method. Paper, parchment, I know that I hung on a high windy tree f
and hides we re not used, and boards were just nine long nigh ts;
not practical for writing books. Thus, Viking I had a spear wound-that was my wo rk-
literature was all oral and not written down struck my self . . .
until after the Viking age. Without a collec- The y brought me no bread, no horn to drin
tion o f books, it was easy for later historians from. . .
t o assume the Vikings w ere illiterate. Crying aloud, I seized the runes; finally
fell
Magic Runes Thus I learned the secret lore, prospered an
Wh ile runic script was used f or messages, waxed in wisdom
the Vikings also believ ed in special runes that Sayings of the High On
could b e used to create potent magical effects

uffering, how could mortals expect the runes explained above.

o come easily to them? First-level runecasters start the campaig
Runes are gained through insight, instruc- knowing two runes. It is assumed the chara
tion, and reward. The character who is taught ter successfully learned these runes and n
how to form a magical rune most probably check is necessary. The initial runes are a
learned it from one who already knows, who signed by the DM.
in turn learned it from another, and another
before him, and so on until the beginning of Using Runes
time. Sometimes a character, after much con-
templation, suddenly "sees" the pattern need- Once the character learns how to fashion
ed to create a specific rune.The rarest of all is magical rune, he can attempt to use it. O
to acquire a rune as a gift from the gods. A course, since the character is manipulatin
bird may whisper the secret of the rune to the magic, this is neither a simple nor easy tas
character or he may even hear it in the voice Even though the character "knows" how t
of a waterfall. use a given rune, it must be recreated wit
Although runes have magical powers, they each use. What the character knows are th
are not like standard AD&D game spells. principles and steps for creating the desire
Runes are not memorized daily, to be cast and rune, but each time he uses the rune, it takes
then lost. There is no limit to the number of different form affected by the factors of th
times runes can be used in a single day. They moment. It could be the time, place, motive
do not have varying verbal, material, and so- or people involved that alter the rune. Pe
matic components, nor do thev have castine haps the most important oart in usine a rune
to deduce the the correc;forrn ~
~ needid.
~ ..~ ~ ....
~~~~~
times that modify kiti at i This slow process is known a s shaping, an

is divided into three steps-planning, carvin
earning Runes and activating. Each attempt to shape a run
Like spells, runes must be learned before begins with a-full turn of contemplation du
they can be used. After a rune has been found ing which the character must remain undi
whatever means), the character must turbed. At the end of that time, the charact
ck to see if he can learn it. This check uses can proceed to the second step.
the Chance to Learn Spell percentage given for Carving a rune requires only three things-
e character's Intelligence score. If the check the rune as planned out in the character
successful, the character can add that rune mind, something to carve it with, and som
tu the list of those he already knows. If the thing to carve it on. Magical runes must b
eck is failed, theincharacter

Increasing cannot
level does learn that
not allow an- carved
inks to be
they effective;
have written
no power. with
The paper too
carving an
check; however, if the character's Intelli- and surface can be whatever is at hand (a
ence improves, he can make another attempt though some runes may have restrictions
provided he still has access to the rune but must be known during the planning stag
through an instructor or other method). A character cannot plan a rune and then loo
Although runes are a written type of magic, around for the materials to carve it. Ther
a character cannot learn how to use a rune just must be no delay between the planning an
By studying one. There is much more to creat- the carving of a rune.
ing runes than writing them. The character Typical surfaces for carving runes includ
must have a living example of the rune- boards, blades, drinking horns, and stone
either insight, instructor, or inte

knife, although any other hard, pointed tool Beast-Rune

can be used.
This rune allows the runecaster to undei
The third step in shaping a rune is activat-
stand the speech of a particular animal. Whell
ing it. T his must be done within two rounds of
shaped, the rune must name the particular an-
the carving f or the rune to be effective. The
imal it is intended to affect. A type of anima
activation can be either a poem spoken over
(any bear") is not sufficient; an exact identifi-
the runes (to charge them with power) or
cation must be pro vided ("the bear that lives
anointing the runes with beer or spit. The ex-
in the big cave at the mouth of Flossi's
act method is generally unimportant to the
stream"). Once the rune is carved, the caster
pla y of the campaign.
can converse with that animal as if b y norm a
All told, the process of shaping a rune takes
15 + ld20 minutes. Upo n completing the last speech, both Speaking
each other. man and animal
animalsunderstanding
are typically
step, either the player or the DM makes a Wis-
friendly, even helpful; perhaps the nov elt y of
dom check for the character. If the Wisdom
speaking humans intrigues them.
check is successful, the rune works as intend-
ed. The player can make checks for those
runes where the outcom e is obvious. The DM Berserk-Rune
should make checks fo r situations where the This rune, carved onto the haft of an axe or
success of the rune cannot be determined im- shaft of a spear, can be used to incite berserk
mediately, such as a rune against poison frenzy. Since the name of the person and the
carved on a d r i i i orn. Af te r the rune has instance of battle must be included in the
served its purpose, it is merely a carved pat- shaping of the rune, the berserk-rune is gener-
tern. Runes cannot b e reused. all y only effective in set-piece battles or duels
where the runecaster has time to ureoare.
~
.
Rune Descrlptlons On ce the rune is shaped, the user of the weap-
on gains + 2 to his hit points and + 1 to his
spellsf magica1 do not have damage and THACO (but no other berserke
levels. M os t can be karned b y any runecaster, powers). The berserk-rune does not convey
no matter what his level. However, Some all the powers allowed the berserker charat
runes can Only be attempted after mastering ter. The state lasts until the character is slair
nes. In these cases, the rune Or
uses another weapon, retreats, or is out <
that must be known are listed in the descrip- for than rounds,
tion of the particular run
Catch-Rune
AleRune
This rune must be to oled on to the palms of
This rune the Pence f poison and a pair of leather gloves. When the rune is
protects against POiS0+, after a fashion. shaped, the wearer, place, and time must be
Once the rune must be carved On specified (i.e. "these glove s are fo r Halfdan the
the rim Of a Or The two runes must Seal-Hunter in the battle against the English
then be touched o each Other. The effectiveness we are about to fight"). The glov es are effec
Of the rune s not permanent; it is Only u s f u l for tive f or one day. When wo rn, the named char
a ession, the may acter can try to catch any weapon thrown at
be refilled many times. If d e his time the him-spears, axes, knives, etc.-by making a
drink contained is poisoned, the cup shatters
when the runecaster touches it. Once
broken, the a l e r u n e is obviously can

from that attack. If the attempt fails but the Charm-runes are dangerous to use for a va-
attack succeeds, the character suffers one ex- riety of reasons. First, unlike many other
tra point of damage from the attempt. The runes, a misshapen or poorly carved charm
rune is not effective against arrows or thrown rune is not just ineffective: it gains the power
boulders and the like. to harm, assuming the properties of a disease
rune. Second, unless natural instincts overrule
Change-Rune it, the charm-rune is only effective so long a
it remains in place. It is reasonable to assume
This rune allows the runecaster to assume
that sooner or later the rune will be discov
the form of a natural animal. When shaping
ered. The charmed person (and his or her kin
the rune, the runecaster must specify what
is apt to take a dim view of such a magical se
creature
carved onhe will become.
a bone, feather, orThe
hiderune is crea-
of that then duction. Finally, unquestioning love may no
always be the bliss the character imagined; i
ture. Upon completion, the character assumes
can easily yield to other emotions, particular
the form of the animal. His clothing and
ly jealousy.
equipment do not transform with him. The
character has the armor class, movement, at-
tacks and damage of the creature but retains Dead-Rune
his own hit points, THACO, and saving This dark and potent rune allows the m e
throws. He does not gain any special abilities caster to converse with those departed. When
the creature might possesses (poisons, bear shaping the rune, the runecaster must know
hugs, etc.). The change lasts for ld 6 hours or the name of the specific individual he seeks
until the character sleeps or goes unconscious, The rune is then carved on a pole and driven
although the caster can end it earlier if he into the earth of the grave mound or cast into
wishes. the sea for those unburied. The mound then
opens (or a hall appears in the waters) reveal
Charm-Rune ing the dead spirit seated at his hlgh seat. T he
runecaster can pose up to three questions to
This rune, when correctly shaped, func-
the spirit. Although the summoned spirit can
tions as a powerful love charm. It is, however,
not lie, it typically answers in riddles and po-
dangerous to use. Each charm rune must be
ems (frequently loaded with kennings). The
shaped with a particular pair of lovers in mind
spirit will invite the character to enter, bu
and then carved onto a plank. The plank must
anyone foolish enough to do so is lost forever
then be placed underneath the mattress of the
The dead-rune has a significant risk in tha
victim. After each night spent sleeping over
not all spirits are cooperative or helpless. Each
the rune, the victim must make a saving throw
vs. petrification. If the saving throw is suc- time it is used to summon a new spirit, there is
a 10% chance the runecaster has contacted
cessful, the rune has n o effect that day. f the
one of the uneasy dead. The summoning free
saving throw is failed, the victim is charmed.
such spirits from their mounds and they take
He or she views the runecaster (or whomever
on physical form. Spirits released in this man
the runecaster has designated) most favor-
ner are equal in all respects to wights.
ably. Indeed, the victim behaves if in love.
(Note that this does not give the runecaster or
Disease-Rune
any other absolute control over the charmed
person ) The charm effect only remains in ef- This rune is very similar to the charm-rune
fect so long as the plank with the rune remains When shaped, the victim must be named and
in place beneath the mattress.
the rune carved on a plank. This is then placed
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beneath the mattress of the victim. Each has no effect on illness caused by d i s e u s
morning thereafter, the victim must make a runes. Whe n shaped the caster must kn ow th
saving throw vs. death. If successful, the rune name and symptoms of the sufferer. Th e run
has no effect. If failed, the victim weakens, is then carved on a plank and placed under th
losing a point of Constitution per day. This ailing person’s pillow. Each morning the pa
process continues until the victim’s Constitu- tient makes a saving throw vs. death. If suc
tion reaches 0 and the character dies. Consti- cessful, the disease lessens and one of th
tution lost in this fashion cannot be regained symptoms vanishes. (Fevers abate, po x hea
until the rune is discovered and destro yed. aches depart, etc.) When all symptoms ar
gone, the person is cured. T he rune is then in
effective.
Fortune-Rune
Used by seers, the fortune-rune allows the
Iron-Can’t-Bite-Rune
caster t o predic t the fate o f others. Each rune
must be fashioned fo r a particular person and This potent rune is much valued by war
carved into wood . It is then typically cast on riors of all types and is frequently used b
the floor, burnt, or handled by the seeker. If raiders and berserkers. Th e rune is shaped fo
the ru ne is shaped successfully, a general indi- a particular person and carved onto a wo ode
cation of the character’s fate in life is given. amulet. T he charm must be donne d as soon a
Thii can be as broa d o r precise as the DM de- it is carved. (It is not possible to stockpile pre
sires. O f course, onc e a prediction is made the pared amulets.)This must be wo rn around th
DM should make efforts to see that what has neck at all times. Thereafter, the wearer su
been fo reto ld comes true. fers one point less damage from all attack
Th e Vikings strongly believed that the fate made with weapons. A n axe blow that doe
of a person was fixed f rom his birth and there six points of damage would o nly cause fi ve t
was little he could do to change it. (Arr ow- a character so protected.) The rune is effectiv
Odd, wh o was fated t o be killed at home by as long as the character wears the amulet o
the skull of his own horse, killed and buried until the character’s hit po ints are reduced t
the animal, then sailed aw ay vo wi ng never to 0. If the rune is removed for any reason, i
return. Although he lived for three hundred power is broken. C ertain magical devices ma
years, Arrow-Odd finally did meet the fate also negate the effectiveness of the rune.
the seer had described fo r him.) character can on ly use one of these runes at
Fortune-runes are useful in describing the time.
general l i e of the character, his luck in a com-
dheother
dangers of undertaking
largescale events.a They
long Limb-Rune
This useful rune can be used to heal injurie
for determining the outcome of particularly those suffered in battle. To be e
tails and events, such as whether a fective, the rune is shaped with the injure
nster lurks behind the door. Such hazards person‘s name and then carved onto th
life are left for the characters to face on branch of a living tree. Blood from th
wounded person must be touched to th
carved letters. If the runecasting is successfu
Help-Rune the injured person heals l d l O p oints of dam
Th is valuable rune can be fashioned t o cure age.
diseases, including most of those caused by Altepately, limb-runes can be used
speed the process of natural h d i n p Th

process for shaping the rune is the same as more than one l u c k - r u n e in operation at a si
above, but the rune is carved on the inside of a gle time. All others he might try to carry a
piece of bark stripped from a living tree and instantly negated.
placed against the wounded character's skin.
Thereafter, the character heals at twice his Nis-Rune
normal rate. When used in this fashion, the
rune remains effective until the character has A ni8-rune (pronounced roughly nith) is
highly charged and emotional rune to us
made a complete recovery. Only one limb
since it is a grave insult to the person named
rune per character can be used at a time.
the rune. (Ni8 implies shaming and disgrac
and among the Vikings is associated with tra
Lor-Rune tors, particularly a man who kills his ow
This is a potent and dangerous rune, great blood-kin. Such criminals are named ni8in
in both its rewards and its risks. It allows the and can be killed on sight by any man.) A ni
runecaster to seek the answer to a single ques- rune delivers a powerful curse.
tion. The runecaster formulates his question To fashion this rune, the runecaster mu
in the form of magical runes and carves these name a particular person to be affected an
on a stone. If the rune is successfully shaped, fashion with the runes the wrongs that perso
an answer to the question will come to the has committed against the runecaster to ju
character in a dream in Id6 nights. Like most tify the curse. A ni8-rune carved witho
prophetic answers, the vision will be couched good cause automatically fails (with the co
in strange and mysterious terms for the rune- sequences given below). T he rune is carved o
caster to puzzle out. a pole, set in the ground, and topped with a
The risk comes if the rune is fashioned animal's skull. The pole must be on the prop
wrong. Then, instead of a prophetic dream, erty of the person being cursed.
the runecaster suffers six visits by a gast (see The type of curse delivered depends on th
Monsters), appearing once each night. imagination and desires of the runecaste
Typical curses inflict madness, misfortun
Luck-Rune bad luck, illness, Poor harvests, hars
winters, bad hunting: or evil weather. Th
This rune, carved on a stick or other wood-
curse can never directly cause the death of th
en object, gives a single person luck for one
victim. For example, the runecaster cann
day. The shaping of the rune requires the
will a fatal illness on the victim or cause h
name particular person to be protected. He
ship to sink in mid-ocean. However, he cou
must then carry the rune with him for it to be reduce the victim to feeble weakness (makin
effective. If the rune is successfully shaped,
him easy to kill) or request a terrible stor
the recipient gains the benefits of Good L u c k
(that might sink the ship of anyone foolis
as described in the "Gifts"section of Chapter 2.
enough to sail).
f the rune is badly formed, the Bad Luck e f -
If the rune is fashioned successfully, the vi
fect is instead triggered. The runecaster de-
tim is allowed a saving throw vs. death to r
cides the type of d i e to be affected at the time
sist the effects of the curse. If the save is faile
>f shaping the rune.
the curse takes hold. If the save is successfu
Good luck remains in effect from sunrise to
the curse is negated.
sunset, provided the character keeps the rune
There are several risks involved in usin
on his person all that time. Bad luck has the
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book this spell. First, it is difficult to fashion, so th
39/106
same duration, but remains in effect even if
. fn

he ni8-rune t o have effect it must be placed building o f the ship gains a +5% bonus to lat
where it can be found. Since the runes clearly er seaworthiness checks.
identify the runecaster and his intended vic- Once the sea-rune is carved (assuming i
tim, either the victim or his relatives might was successful), the ship has better chances o
discover the pole and then take vengeance on surviving any storm. In dangerous seas, th
the character. A ni8-rune is a grave insult and vessel handles as if the win d and waves wer
will not be dismissed lightly, unless the target one category less. (Strong winds are treated a
is a coward. Finally, a po orl y fashioned rune favorable, storms as strong winds, gales a
will rebound on the runecaster. If the charac- storms, and the northern equivalent of hurri
ter errs in shaping the rune, the curse (or cane is a gale.) Th e ship gains a +lo% bonu
something similar to it) effects the runecaster. to all seaworthiness checks (possibly 1 5 % i
Lik e the potential victim, the player character the rune was fashioned when the ship wa
is allowe d a saving throw to a voi d the effect. built). Multip le sets of sea-runes on a singl
Th e curse remains in effect until either the ship are not allowed.
conditions of the curse are fulfilled, the ni8- If a sea-rune is negated because of a broken
rune is negated, or the tw parties arrive at or lost oar, the rune can be repaired by any
some kind of reconciliation. This last can be runecaster who knows how to shape a sea
done by arbitrating a settlement at the local rune. H e can examine the runes already o n th
thing (a law-assembly, see Chapter 7). ship and carve a new one. A check for th
work must still be made. The bonus for th
Quench-Rune initial carving of the rune is lost, however
since the replacement oar was not fashione
This rune allows the caster to extinguish
an y single fire. Whe n shaped, the name of the when the ship
is broken, thewas built. Ifisthe
sea-rune pr ow or rudde
permanently de
place to be affected must be worked into the
stroyed. T he ship is then considered ill-fated
rune, which can then be carved on any availa-
and cannot have another rune placed on it.
ble piece of wood. The woo d is thrown into
the F i e and consumed to activate the rune. If
the rune is shaped successfully, a conflagra- Shield-Rune
tion up to the size of a single building can be Like the sea-rune, this rune is highly desired
extinguished. Only one fire can be extin- by all warriors. To be used, the rune must b
guished per rune. shaped for a particular warrior and then
carved on the inside of his shield. Thereafter
Sea-Rune the warrior gains a + 1 o all his saving throws
when carrying the shield. The shield-rune is
For the Vikings, the sea-rune is one of the only effective for the named warrior; should
most prized and practical of all runes. W ith it,
another use his shield, it functions as a norma
the chances of a safe voyage are improved
shield with no special bonus.
greatly, no small thing for sailors of the
The shield-rune remains in effect until the
stormy northern seas. Since the rune is most
character is defeated in a duel or runs from a
effectiv e if shaped and carv ed when the ship is
battle. If either event occurs, the rune is imme
built, wise shipwrights seek out the most skill-
diately negated.
ful runecaster they can find. The runecaster
shapes the rune and then carves it on the
Shout-Rune
pro w, rudder, and oars of the ship. The rune
remains in effect until any of these items are This peculiar rune can be used to free oth
broken or lost. A rune shaped during the
ers, or sometimes oneself, from bo nds and fet
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ers. It can also open locks. To use, the rune- include the name of the strengthened person
laster names the person to be freed or the item and then carve the rune on a piece of wood o
o be opened and carves the rune on the bonds stone. This is driven into the earth and touch
.hemselves. He then shouts to activate the ed by the named person. Thereafter, for ld
wne. This unties knots, opens locks, breaks hours, that character's Strength is increase
:etters, and undoes any other restraints. by l d3 points (or 10% if over 18).The charac
ter receives all appropriate adjustments t
Sight-Rune THACO and damage for his enhanced
Strength.
This rune is carved on a piece of wood and
nust be shaped for a particular individual.
Triumph-Rune
3nce activated, the runecaster can look at the This is a powerful and much desired rune
Tamed person with the power of second sight
:see Second Sight in this chapter). Because sec- because it improves a warrior's skill in battle
m d sight allows one to see many things hid- The rune must be shaped for a particular war
ie n or from the other world, this rune is often rior and a particular battle or setting. ("Giv
ise d to help predict the fortunes of others. A victory to Sigurd Hairy-Cheek today agains
;ingle sight rune is effective for one reading. the Wends.") It is then scratched onto the war
rior's sword hilt and blade (spear shaft an
Speech-Rune blade, or any other appropriate combina
tion). The warrior gains a + 1 o his THACO
This rune is shaped for a particular person, and damage rolls. The rune lasts until the war
then carved on an amulet for the person to rior loses the weapon or changes to anothe
wear.
ter theThe rune is During
carving. effectivethat
for twelve
time, hours af-
the rune weapon, retreats or is defeated in the bakle
or the battle ends. The rune-carved blade i
prevents enemies of the wearer from speaking the equivalent of a magical weapon for figh
evil of him. Those attempting to defame, deni- ing creatures that can only be hit with
grate, or spread lies about the protected per- weapons. The triumph-rune cannot be com
;on must make a saving throw vs. spell to do bined with other runes that increase th
so. Furthermore, the spell prevents others THACO or damage rolls of the character, no
from casting runes (particularly the ni6-rune can it be applied to magical weapons.
on the protected person unless, again, a sav-
ing throw vs. magic is made. Water-Rune
While it a t first seems inconsequential, this
rune is of great importantance. The honor of This practical rune is often used by sailo
one's reputation was of no small significance to protect

rune against
is shaped thethe
with riskperson's
of drowning.
name Th
an
among the Vikings. A man's standing could
easily be destroyed by slander and innuendo, then carved onto a piece of wood. This is s
particularly in the court or at the thing (the as- adrift on the ocean. Thereafter, the person ha
sembly). The speech-rune, wisely used, could limited protection against drowning in the fo
prevent such a downfall. lowing ways: He can hold his breath for twic
as long as normal. The character is automat
Strength-Rune cally considered proficient in swimmin
When swimming long distances (such as
The strength-rune does just as its name im- shore after a shipwreck), the character gains
plies: it increases the strength of the recipient. +1 to all required Constitution checks. Th
When shaping the rune, the runecaster must
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42/106

waters and suffers -1 point of damage that Second sight can also be used to see event
might be caused by drowning or similar wa- that will occur. For example, in Iceland ther
ter-based attacks (although these are very, was an old wise woman with the sight who
very infrequent in the Viking world). regularly foretold when the merchant ship
would be arriving for the season.
Creating Other Runes What is seen by second sight will happen
no matter what measures are taken to avoi
Unlike magical spells, which are formulae
it. While most things seen by second sigh
that can be researched and created by player
come to pass relatively quickly, it is not un
characters, runes are secrets with divine
known for the prediction to be fulfilled year
powers. The powers of runes have existed
later.
since the beginning of the world. Runecasters Second sight does have its limitations. At
do not they discover tempts to use second sight only succeed 50
what has always been. A runecaster cannot
of the time, and even then may not revea
choose to research a new Of and add anything interesting or extraordinary. Mos
it to his collection; this is simply not possible.
importantly, this ability cannot be used to pre
This does not mean new runes cannot be
dict the outcome of actions. A character wit
added to the campaign, however. The DM can
second sight cannot look at a chest and say
create new runes as he desires, perhaps in re-
that opening it would be bad, since this re
sponse to the wishes of the players. He can
quires an action that may or may not happen
then introduce these runes into his game how-
(Upon hearing the prediction, nobody open
ever he sees fit. An old hermit in the moun-
the chest and thus makes the prediciton un
tains, through hardship and deprivation, may
have seen a vision of the new rune. An animal true). Characters
outcome cannot
of a fight use it to
or a battle, foretell th
although th
who, since they are part of the earth, are of-
seer could say whether one fighter or com
ten wiser in these than humans) may
mander’s luck was good or bad. An event tha
know the secret. Likewise dwarves, whose
depends on the specific actions of people, par
knowledge of the old magic is far greater,
ticularly player characters, cannot be deter
could know the ru
mined through second sight.
the D M s imaginati
As a last caution, the DM must remembe
that he is in charge whenever a character has
Second Sight vision through second sight. If the DM has n
Second sight gives people the ability to see idea what vision would be appropriate, then
things beyond the ken of normal folk. It mani- none need occur.
fests in two ways. Some D M s may object to the gifted charac
The first, and simpler, power of second ter’s ability to constantly see invisible objects
sight is to see those things that are hidden by Most of the invisible things seen are creature
supernatural means. A person gifted with sec- fr om the othe r world-dwarves, huldre
ond sight can see invisible things without diffi- tomke, nisse, and an assorted collection o
This primarily means the character can sprites and fairies. Seeing such invisible crea
see spirits and hidden creatures. tures is no great blessing since they take
The second power is the ability to see things greater interest in those who can see them
&a t are to be. This prophetic ability of second The attentions of spirits are seldom desirable
sight mostly involves people. With second those with second sight are often mad o
sight the seer can see a person‘s luck, and
touched in the brain by their own power.
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From Ym ir's blood fell drops of poison wh ich The second reaction, which com bines with
grew and formed into a giant. the first, is awe. These strange creatures are
All our kinsmen were so created and that's otherworldly. They know more about the
w h y we're far too fierce. workings of the earth and the gods than nor
Th e Lay of Vathrudnir mal men. Therefore, their appearance among
the world of men always has significance
Th e lands of Vikings were home to more than Worse still, interference with such creature
just human beings. M an y people are familiar can bring down greater woes, even the ire o
with tales of giants, trolls, ogres, dwarves, the gods, whose w ay s are unfathomable.
elves, even dragons; but how many kno w of Only the greatest of heroes (or fools) can
the nisse, kabbelgatt, skogsr3, fossegrim, treat supernatural creatures with casual disre
sjor3, o r a horde o f other creatures, goo d and gard. For all others, the news that a linnorm
ill, that lurked in the dark comers of the has been seen at the ferry or that a spoke is
world? These creatures and many more terrorizing the neighbors is a matter of mea
form ed part of the Viking world. and serious imp
The Role of Monsters Existing Cre

Before throwing dragons, trolls, giants, and The A D & D game system, with its plethor
whatever left and right at player characters, of monsters, has tapped the rich veins o f Scan
take a little time and consider the place of dinavian folk lor e more than once in its searc
monsters in the Viking campaign. The view for new foes. A fe w creatures appear unde
the Vikings had of the wo rld is much different the guise of a different name (more common
fro m that found in the typical AD& - cam- in English). Rather than create a new b atch o
paign. A carefully built campaign should re- monsters who differ only from creatures al
flect these differences. ready described in some minor detail (an AC
Although the Vikings believed in the crea- of 6 instead of 5), it is simpler to gi ve thes
tures described here, monsters were not a creatures an appropriate name change (if any
common part of everyday life. The world is and note any modifications to their appear
human-based and human-centered. Even the ance or behavior. This approach is not pract
trollbo rn are part human in nature, difficult to cal for all monsters, however. In some cases
smgle out b y appearance alone. There are no the Scandinavianname f or a creaturehas bee
dwarven citadels or elven villages. Halflings, borrowed, but the description of the monste
gnomes, dwarves, and elves do not roam the is vastly different fro m Scandinavian legend
streets of town s and cities. Humans, humans This is most obvious in the cases of giants
and more humans make up the fabric of daily dwarves, elves, and trolls.
lie. Th e "unchanged monsters are listed in th
Because strange and nonhuman creatures section, organized alphabetically according t
are rarely ever y seen, humans have two domi- their Scandinavian name. The standar
nant reactions. The first is fear. It does not A D & D ga me creature is identified in paren
matter ho w ben eficial or helpful the creature theses after the Viking name. For conven
might be, it will be vie we d with suspicion and ience, those creatures that can be use
terror. Such beings have pow ers beyo nd nor- unchanged from the Monstrous .Compend
mal men and temperaments that are difficult ums are listed on page 44 under Existing Mon
to uredict. The wisest wav to deal with such sters.
creatures is to avo i

ants, dwarves, and trolls. These creatures, so its affairs. However, in its appearance and
central to Viking myth, require special treat- abilities, it is more like a zombie and has the
ment and are dealt with individuallv. same statistics as these. The ge ng hg er is not
overly horrid in appearance, although it's
Existing Monsters
body reflects the means by which it died.
Badger Owl, giant Drowned men appear dripping wet and those
' Bear Raven who die in battle often sport fresh wounds.
Boar, wild Roc The gengsnger is not necessarily malevolent
Dog, war Snake or evil; it's behavior is influenced by what re-
Dog, wild Squid, giant mains undone. A genginger may appear
Dolphin Squid, kraken briefly to announce its own death, deliver a
Eagle, giant Swanmay message, see that its property is divided prop-
Eagle, wild Turtle, giant sea erly, or even take revenge on a slayer. The
Fish, g. pike Vulture, common genginger can speak and often arrives as a
Hawk, small Vulture, giant guest at a banquet.
Hawk, large Weasel, wild The most important feat ure of the
Korred* Whales genginger is that it cannot be destroyed by
Leprechaun' Wolves normal means. A genggnger can be defeated
Owl, common Wolverine, normal and its body destroyed, but this only delays
*Found in British Isles only the creature. By the next night, the body will
have reformed and it will return. The
Cast (Spectre) genginger can only be permanently laid to
rest when its mission is completed or if it is
T h e gast (not to be confused with the Mon- been put down by the proper rituals. These
strous Compendium ghast) is a fearful undead rituals include holding a "door court," an in-
being that lurks in the wilderness. Unlike formal trial that banishes the spirit, o r an ex-
many other undead, the gast is the spirit of a n orcism (if those haunted are Christian in
unknown person now forced to haunt the belief).
world. It is similar to the spectre, except that it
can take o n solid form and can become invisi- Hamhleypa (Werewoll
ble at will. When solid, the gast can make its
body incredibly heavy, more than a man can Hamhleypa (literally "shape-leaper") are
lift. O n e of its common tricks is to invisibly sit werewolves and werebears, the only types of
itself on the back of a horse or wazon. slowine lvcanthropes encountered in Scandinavian
movement to a cra realms. TAese creatures have the same abilites
and statistics as the lycanthropes listed in the
CengSnger ( Z o Monstrous Compe n diu m.However, in the Vi-
king world lycanthropy is not a disease. All
Kjartan went straight into the living-room lycanthropes encountered are "tme'' lycan-
and saw ThoTodd and the other dead People thropes. Those attacked by a hamhleypa are
sifting b y the fire as usual. not subject to lycanthropy.
Eyrb ygg ja Saga - "
Furthermore, the method of changing form
is different. The Viking lycanthrope cannot

done, the lycanthrope assumes his animal tend to be found only in non-Viking lands
form. Once donned, the skin cannot be re- particularly England and the Empire of the
moved until the next sunrise or sunset. If this Franks.
skin is lost or destroyed, the lycanthrope can The linnorm more often encountered (as of
no onger change its shape. Because of the vul- ten as these very rare creatures can be found
nerability of this change, lycanthropes try to in Viking lands is literally a giant serpent
keep their identities a well-hidden secret. These creatures are nearly identical to red
dragons in power. They have the same statis
Havmand (Merman) tics as red dragons described in the Monstrous
Compendium. However, such linnorm are no
The havmand is found in the ocean, usually
restricted to the color red and have no wings
rocky coasts where sailing is particularly
herous. The havmand has the same abili- although they are excellent swimmers. They
often appear in shimmering rainbow hues o
ties as the merman, and is generally the same
gleaming scales. They can swim at speeds up
in appearance, although the havmand is typi-
to 24 and commonly live at the bottom of
cally bearded. T he havmand is a neutral good
lakes, rivers, and fjords, although they can be
creature. It seldom causes harm to humans.
encountered nearly anywhere. (There are no
Those blessed with good fortune o r respect for
reports of linnorm in Iceland.) Like othe
the sea may be rewarded by the havmand, ei-
dragons, these linnorm guard fabulous trea
ther by seeing that the fishermen's nets are al-
sures.
ways full or, less frequently, appearing to
No matter what type or color, all linnorm
sailors to warn them of auoroachine storms.
and dragons are evil. These creatures are no
~~
Like all creatures of the si;, the haimand is

and never have been friends to man or virtu
able to predict wea ther at wil ally any other creature. It is sometime
thought that a dwarf or giant, through greed
Llnnorm (Dragon) and miserliness, can be changed into a drag
ir went up on to Gnita Heath a on. Indeed, this was the case with Fafnir.
self into a drag on and
Nokk (Nixie)
The nokk is a water spirit similar to the nix
ie. It has the same statistics as the nixie, but it
ath snake") is a term behavior and powers ar e different. The nokk
kinds of dragons, both
is a solitary being, there seldom being more
The most famous of these are
than one to a body of water or stretch of river
certainly Fafnir, slain by the great hero Si-
rssormr (Midgard Serpent), Each individual
victims, althoughpossess the power
the victim to charm
is allowed it
a sav
0's body encircles the entire
ing throw vs. spell with a +2 to the roll. Th
rld ocean (Uthaf); and Nishoggr ("Corpse-
nokk also possesses the power to shapechang
ents the bodies of the dead.
into a horse and will often use this form to lure
er, these three are the truly exceptional the unwary onto its back. Once mounted the
kind, and have attained a sort of mon-
nokk attempts to carry its victim below th
waters, there to drown o r enslave the unfortu
Other, less tremendous dragons did exist.
nate person.
Red and black dragons can be used from the Another significant power of the nokk is it
AD&D@ Mo ns tr o us Co mp end iums . Both fine musical skill. The nokk is an expert with



instruments. It is said that many a skilled bard easily as their rural cousins.
learned at the feet of a nokk, after presenting There are no nisse in Iceland.
the proper gift to the creature. So talented is
the nokk in music that it can cast a charm with Pukje (Goblin)
it's playing. Those who fail to save vs. paraly-
zation are drawn into uncontrollable dancing The pukje is a small, malicious creature
which must be sustained until the music stops the deep woods. Although seldom seen, he i
identical in appearance and abilities to th
playing.
The nokk is also known by other names, A D & P Monstrous Compendium goblin. Al
depending on where it lives. The fossegrim pukje are capable with magic, however, abl
(waterfall goblin) dwells behind the roaring to cast spells as if they were 4th level wizards
The pukje seldom bands together and then on
falls so common in the mountainous country. ly in small parties of his kind. These groups
Stromkarl is a name for those nokk found in
rivers. Those who favor the horse form are live in homes dug into mountainsides and
cleverly disguised with magic. Traveler
known as backahast.
sometimes spy the lights of these homes when
Those nokk encountered are always male.
Unlike nixies, nokk tend to be true neutral in the pukje forget to close the door.
nature. They do not stray far from their wa- Pukje and dverge are often mistaken fo
ters. each other and the two may have a common
ancestry. Unlike dwarves and goblins, there is
no overt hatred between the pukje and the
Nisse (Brownie)
dverge. Indeed, pukje treasure often include
This creature is known as a nisse or some- a few items made by the cunni
his reda cap.

times to mte. Hefarmers
Wise can usually
leavebe identified
this by
little crea- Sending (Revenant)
ture alone, hoping that he will bring the
homestead good luck. The nisse possesses one The sending is a powerful type of undead
invoked by certain evil wizards. These wiz-
power. If pleased or offended, the nisse can
ards dispatch their sendmgs out into the world
change a man's luck. He can bestow good or
to carry out their wicked commands. Send
bad luck (explained under Gifts in Chapter 3)
ings have the same abilities and powers as re-
or he can take these away. Nisse seldom make
venants. However, where the revenant seeks
physical attacks, the threat of bad luck usu-
revenge on its killer, the sending's target is
ally being sufficient to protect them. So long
whomever its evil master commands it to at-
as he is treated well and respected, the nisse
tack. Thus the sending's paralytic power is ef
improves the fortunes of the farmer and his
fective against whomever tries to oppose it,
family. f harassed or bothered too much, a not just a single person (as is the case with a
nisse will simply leave the farm, after he has
revenant).
caused some mischief.
The process of creating a sending is an evi
Some nisse do not attach themselves to a
and dark secret. Those wizards capable of this
farm but are instead found on ships. These nisse
deed have independently researched the nec-
are known as kabbelgatt. Others are found in
essary spell or spells to perform the task. Play-
villages where their influence is limited to the
er characters will never find this spell written
house only, not the farm. These are known as
in spellbooks or on scrolls.
gardwor. All serve the same function as farm
nisse, bringing good fortune to their charge and
seeinn to little details. Thev can be offended as

SkogsrP (Nymph) and can warn sailors to shore. Like the

skogsri, the sjo ri can grant sailors success a
The skogsri is a wild and dangerous, yet
fishing, guaranteeing they will have a good
potentially helpful, type of nymph. In appear-
catch whenever they cast their nets in the
ance, it is similar to other nymphs, taking the
sjor2s waters.
form of a beautiful maiden. The skogsri lives
in the deep forest where hunters sometimes
travel. Unlike the nymph, the skogsri does
not have the power to blind or kill. Instead, it The spoke is a type of undead similar to the
can charm males if it so desires. Those so en- poltergeist. Like that spirit, it causes distur
chanted are led into the deepest parts of the bances and harrasses those who dwell within
forest and are seldom seen again. Fortunately, its haunts. The spoke is normally invisible
the skogsri reserves this punishment for those but can assume a physical form-a ghost-like,
who displease her. intangible outline of the person it was in life
The skogsri can also polymorph herself to The spoke is distinguished from other undead
appear as a man's wife or lover. She takes by its activity (going bump in the night) and
great interest in men and sometimes even vis- because it is the spirit of a person known to
its hunters in their own domain for her plea- the household. The spoke's hauntings ar e not
sure. If not displeased, she can bestow the gift random; often it returns to right a wrong, fin
of hunting skill on her paramour. As long as ish something left undone, deliver a message,
he remains silent, the hunter will always have or harrass those whom it hated in life.
success in the hunt. He will always come
across game and enjoys a + 1 o his THACO
when hunting. (This does not apply to com-
bat.) Should a man foolishly boast of his for- This type
countered inof undeadIt is
Iceland. ismost frequently
similar en
to the ghos
tune or reveal his tryst, he will be cursed with
in abilities and powers. Unlike most ghosts
bad luck. Little game will he ever find and he
whose identities are known, the svipa is a
will suffer a - 1 on his THACO when hunting.
mysterious undead, unknown to those who
Skogsri are neutral and even sometimes
live in the region it haunts. The svipa lurks in
evil. While they may reward those they like, it
lonely regions, particularly at crossroads (a
is dangerous to seek these creatures out. Few
common place to bury potentially dangerou
can say what pleases such creatures. They can
dead). The svipa is only active at night and
be angered by the slightest thing, so much so
seeks to cause harm to those who wander
that only a fool or a hero would welcome the
within its range.
attentions of their
Sjors (Merman)
The sjor i are a type of merfolk, although Not every creature of Scandinavian legend
those encountered are almost always female. has an equivalent in the A D & W Monstrou
Unlike mermaids, sjori can be found in al- C o m p e n d i u m . The following creatures
most any body of water, fresh or salt. Sjori though occasionally sharing the names of
choose to have little traffic with humans, but standard AD&D game creatures, have no
on occasion make their presence known. parellel in the Mon strou s Compe n diu ms
Those sailors and fishermen who treat them Now, you get to see what they're really like
with kindness and respect are apt to be re-
warded. A sjori knnws of impending storms

Dwarves and Elves As a rule, these beings are a secretive and

The dw ar fs had first emerged and co me to life mysterious lot. They live in the world of spir-
its and gods, and therefore have little commu-
in Ymir’s flesh , and at that time were m aggots.
But b y the decree of the gods they acquired nion with the world of men. T heir desires and
goals are not those of humanity. They are sel-
hum an unde rstanding and the appearance of
dom susceptible to bribes of gold or jewels. In-
men, although they lived in the earth and
rocks. stead they may seek marriage or affairs with
The Prose E dda humans and sometimes take children to raise
as their own. Dwarves of all types are usually
neutral or neutral evil in alignment.
The dwarves and elves of V&ng myth, leg-
One of the most feared traits of such crea-
end, and folktale are a far different breed from
those presented in the AD &W d e s . In the Vi- tures is bertagning (”taking into the moun-
king imagination, dwarves and elves are more tain”), the habit of luring or stealing men,
women, and children away from their homes.
or less lumped together. The words are used
Men lost in the forests are often lured into
somewhat interchangably to indicate any of a
variety of strange beings with supernatural mountain halls by bright lights and feasting,
sometimes by the allure of a seductive spirit.
powers. Thus, dwarf refers to many types of
Women are sometimes tricked into marrying a
humanoid earth or woodland creatures.
dwarf or elf. Infants are stolen from their cra-
In a Viking campaign, the words dwarf and
elf can refer to any number of beings-usually dles, sometimes replaced by an elf-child
(changeling) or a wooden doll. Those taken
an A D& W dwarf, elf, or drow. Ignoring their
are either never seen again or disappear for
differences in appearance, all dwarves and
years, only to return dazed and slightly mad
elves are considered to be more or less the
same type of being. Known by a variety of from their experience. Very rarely, a few re-
turn blessed with strange powers and go
names (alfr, dvergar, dock-alfar, and more)
fortune.
they are hlghly magical and mysterious crea-
tures. Some live on the surface and are consid-
ered fair, others live underground and are Dverge
called dark. All are older than mankiid, hav- The dverge is the closest in appearance to
ing lived since the beginning of the world. the dwarf described in the Monstrous Co m-
In game terms, a dwarf or elf can be any pendium, except for their crow’s feet. They
number of different beings, dependmg on its are usually short and skinny, often grotesque
behavior and appearance. Regardless of its in appearance. A few can pass for normal,
name and appearance, the dwarf o r elf has the though stunted, men. Some sport wild beards.
spell-casting
ard abilities
(Id8 + 3). of a 4th
(Viking to 11thare
dwarves level wiz-
hardly In addition
ability, to their
the dverge considerable
are the finest of allmagical
crafts-
strangers to magicl) Furthermore, all dwarves men for making magical devices. T
and elves can fight and use armor without re- cally have and use magical devic
striction. weapons, clothes that make the wearer
Dwarves o r elves can never be player char- ble, and statuettes that come to life are fav
acters, although in very rare circumstances a ite items.
dwarf might join a party. These NPCs will The dverge are almost never encoun
never remain for more than a single adven- Most meetings are with travelers lost
ture, however. Dwarves are seldom con- deep mountains. Dverge are never fo
cerned in the affairs of men. Iceland and rarely in other lands of Sc
I

-
ia, although they are more common to east- making all manner of magical things, includ-
em lands such as Karelia, Permia, and Gar- ing swords, armor, rings, and horns.
dariki. These beings usually live underground Most huldufolk, as one of their other names
and are sensitive to sunlight, which causes implies, live in the numerous mounds and bar-
them to have a -1 penalty on all die rolls rows found near farms and homesteads. Al-
when in the sun. Many dverge live in the oth- though their choice of domicile suggests it, the
erworldly realms of Niflheim and all have the huldufolk are not undead creatures. Instead
power to cross from the normal world to the their homes are magical realms reached only
otherworld. be entering these mounds. Others live just be-
yond the realm of men, in invisible lands at
Dock-Alfm the edges of farmsteads. There they have their
own farms and houses, often in imitation of
The dock-alfar, or dark elves, are similar to
their human neighbors. The huldufolk possess
&ow in abilities and appearance. They live
the ability to pass from one realm to the other
beneath the earth and shun the llght. Unlike
and can take those they choose into this
drow, the dock-alfar are not quite as mali-
realm. Those with second sight can see into
cious or evil. They are neutral to evil in be-
this realm when the huldufolk are passing
havior, in general preferring to remain out of
from one to the other.
human affairs. They do not use javelins or
For the most part, huldufolk remain distant
crossbows of any type, carry adamantine
from the affairs of men. If they are spoken of
maces, use poison, or have any of the cultural
with respect and undisturbed, they can be
particulars of &ow. The dock-alfar live in un-
good neighbors, performing little services for
derground communities organized much like
the farm when no one is around. They may
normal human communities. Like the dverge, bring back cows that have strayed or help a
dock-alfar tend to only be encountered in the
little in the harvest. On the other hand, if
loneliest of mountain regions. So infrequently
treated disrespectfully or bothered, the huldu-
are they seen that humans consider them more
folk use their powers to cause havoc and suf-
legend than fact. The dock-alfar are never
fering for their human neighbors. Huldufolk
found outside Norway and Sweden.
tend to be neutral or chaotic good.
Like all of their kind, the huldufolk canno
Huldre be held to human standards. They have their
The huldufolk (‘hidden people”) are quite own reasons and motives for doing things
similar to elves as described in the AD&D” Male and female huldre are fascinated with
Monstrous Compendium, and the ability humans of the opposite sex and will some-
scores of elves can be used. They are also times use they powers to trick humans into be
known as the alfar, huldre, vattar, under- coming their paramours. Those so romanced
ground folk, or people of the mounds. Unlike are typically taken back to the huldufolks
elves, the huldufolk can become invisible at realm to live. There time passes much differ-
will or polymorph themselves into copies of ently, such that years may pass outside for a
humans, including people known to the char- single night within the mound. There is no se
acters. Such a transformation is never perfect, pace; the time variation is different on each
however. There is always a distinguishing fea- occurence. Sometimes a day is a month,
ture to reveal the huldufolks true identity, be sometimes it is a year. As stated earlier, those
it a cow’s tail, merging eyebrows, or a ridge who return from bertagning are never the
instead of a dimple under the lip. Like the same. Some gain the power of second sight or
dverge, the huldufolk are accomplished in
good fortune, while others are simply mad fo
52/106

the rest of their days. Giants

Th e huldufolk are found throughout nearly
all the lands settled b y the V i k i i s . Some say Odin said: Hail, Vafthrudnir I am here i
these beings liv ed there first; others maintain yo ur hall to see what yo u loo k like,
the huldre followed their neighbors to these I have come to find out if they call you wis
ne w lands. rightly or wron gly, giant.
The Lay of Vafthrudn
Maahiset
The giants of Nor se belief are some of th
This type of dwarf is identical in appearance best known of all the strange and wondrou
to the standard A D & P game dwarf, although creatures in their mythology. It was a gian
dverge, is simpler and more barbaric. Like the

its dressthe maahiset lives underground and is wh o built the wall around Asgard, land of th
gods. It was the giant Utgard-Loki w h o trick
seldom foun d on the surface. t seldom carries ed the gods Thor and Loki in contests o
weapons and typically wears rustic clothii. strength. It is the giant Surt, lord of Mus
The maahiset are all elementalists, especially pelheim, wh o w ill destroy the earth in the las
fond of earth-based spells. As a rule, they are battle, Ragnarok.
juspicious of strangers. The maahiset are found Norse giants come in a broad range of g u i s e
~ n l yn Karelii, Tafestaland, and Permia. from the cunning and clever to the brutish an
stupid. Although similar in many ways to th
Dwarf Names Fjalar NSi giants presented in the A D & D Monstrous Com
Frosti pendium, even the least of the Nors e giants i
NY r
greater than his A D & D game cousin.
Ai
Alberich Fundin
Galar NyraS
Oin In the Viking age, fe w giants, if any, lived in
Alf Ganndilf Onar Scandinavian realms. Onc e they wer e popu
Althj6f Ginnar Ori lous and lived throughout the land. Man
Alvis Gloin RassviS landmarks-a precariou sly balanced boulder
Andvari Har Regin an oddly shaped mountain peak, or a curi
Austri Haur Rekk ously shaped lake-were created (usually ac
Bifur Heptifili SkafiS cidentally) or placed b y giants. Wit h the ris
Bifur HleSjolf skirvir of men, however, the giant population dwin
Bombor Hugstari SuSri dled and their race retreated. O f those on
Brokk Sviar earth (Midgard), most dwell in fabled land
Ingi
Dain Iwaldi Thekk far to the east beyond Permia. This land i
Dolghvari Kili Thjodrorir known

Giantland,byandmany names-Jotunheim,
the Glasir Plains. Others li v
Don Lit Thorin
Draupnir MjoSvitnir Throin far north in the frozen wastes, in places lik
Duf MoSsognir Svalbard and Groenland. In mythic al lands
Thror
Durin Mondul Vali giants abounded, again to the east of Asgard
Dvalin Niin Vestri and to the south in Muspelheim.
Eikinskjaldi Nir Vig As a rule, giants share the worst characteris
Eitri NiSi V inndi tics of humans. They are deceitful, often cun
Fa1 Niping Virvir ning, greedy, malicious, jealous, and violent
FiS NorSri Vit Some are quite clever and skilled in magica
a r t s All giants are evil, though they may be
Fili Nori Volund

be devious and suspicious of strangers. Th e

Giant Names are seldom openly hostile, but wil l sometime
(Fem. indicates giantess)
attempt to trick or ambush humans wh o ente
their territory. In general, cliff giants are neu
Aegir Hymir tral evil.
Idi
Im
Frost Giants
Lodin
A r k e f i a ( fem. ) Menia (fern.)
I
Frost giants live in the uncharted froze
Aurgelmir Mimir lands north of Scandinavia and in the col d en
Aurnir Mogthrasir trances to Niflh eim. Frost giants are identica
Beli Mu pell in ability and general appearance to those de
Bergelmir Neri scribed in the A D & D Monstrous Compendi
Bestla (fern.) Norvi um although they stand 25' to 30' tall. The
Bolthorn No tt (fem.) are much more intelligent than their A D & D
Eggther Rind (fern.) game cousins, with intelligence scores from 1
Egd Skrogg to 15. The frost giants of V iking myth do no
Fenja (fem.) Skrymir have shamans or witchdoctors, but 20% o
Fjalar Skuld their kind are mages up to 10th level in ability
Fornjotr Suttung The frost giants live in cold and dimly li
Ger d (fem.) Svarang longhouses. Their groupings are tribal, usu
Gunnlod (fern.) Thiassi ally consisting of a jar1 (chieftain), his men
Gvmir Thiazi and their families. T he giant jar1 in turn owe
Hiti Thklgelrnir his allegience to the jNten Fom jotr or Thrym
HddU Thrym both kings. Because the frost giants live in dis
Hlebard Ulf tant, icy lands, they seldom become invo lve
Hrimgerd (fem.) Utgard-Loki in the affairs of men. However, they hav
Hrimgrimnir Vafthrudnir more than once boiled out of Niflheim an
Hrunnnir Verdandi threatened the safety of Asgard and the othe
Hr ym Mfing realms.
Ymir
loten
These giants are among the most powe rfu
Cliff Giants and wisest of their kind. Most are nearly a
The c li f giants are one of the more common old as the beginning of the wo rld. Th ey hav
types of giant, frequently encountered in the near godlike powers and abilities. Because o
lands to the east. Cliff giants have the same their mythical background, the joten are o nl
statistics and abilities as A D & P game stone found in the legendary lands of the othe
giants. In appearance, however, they stand realms-Niflheim, Muspel, and Jotunheim.
25' to 30' tall, h av e long hair and thick beards, In appearance, the joten are truly majestic
and indeed look much like their Viking Th ey have the general appearance of storm gi
counterparts. They are also very intelligent ants from the A D & D Monstrous Com pend
(10-12). ome cliff giants serve under power- um but easily stand 75 to 100 eet tall. Th
ful chieftains of their kind, staying at his hall abilities of each of these giants are unique, bu
as retainers. Others li ve with their families on are similar to those fo r Surt and Th yrm pre
farms far fro m other lands. Cli ff giants tend to sented in the AD & D 2nd Edition Legends an

Lore rulebook. It is doubtful that even the range of civilization. They are most common
most heroic of player characters would ever on the fringes of Karelia and the heart of Ta-
encounter one of these giants. festaland and Permia.
Kalevanpojat Sea Giants

These giants, found only in the regions of These special giants dwell below the waves.
Karelia, Tafestaland, and Permia, are a bane They are similar in size, appearance and abili-
to the farmers who have settled there. In ap- ties to AD&D game cloud giants. Sea giants
pearance the kalevanpojat look like hill gi- can breathe in air or water equally well and
ants. They have the same ability scores as swim or walk at the same movement rate.
these creatures. However, the kalevanpojat They can predict weather at will. They do not
can transmute rock to mud and transmute have priests among their number, although
earth to stones, each three times per day. (The they can be 9th level wizards. They fight with
latter power has the same range and area of their hands or spears, on those rare occasions
effect as transmute rock to mud. It changes when they give battle.
earth into small boulder-sized rocks.) Sea giants are believed to dwell in halls be-
The kalevanpojat live at the edges of the neath the waves. This is only supposition,
wilderness in simple log houses hidden well since their homes have never been visited by
away from strangers. They enjoy their soli- man. They dress in ordinary clothing, draped
tude and will use their powers to plague set- in seaweed and often adorned with treasures
tlers who expand into giant territory. Dry land from the ocean floor. Their hair is normally a
becomes inexplicably swampy, no matter how pale blond-green.
many times it is drained. Good fields fill and Sea giants have little interest in the affairs of
refill with stones, making plowing impossible. men or anything else that occurs on land.
The kalevanpojat are neutral evil in align- They also tend not to involve themselves with
ment. the fleets of fishermen and Vikings that ply the
waves. However, the sea giants have been
Thursir known to make rare appearances at the sur-
face. Sometimes they warn of impending
These ill-tempered brutes are enlarged ver-
storms, particularly if the captain is blessed
sions of the AD&D@game hill giants. They
with good luck or the ship is protected by
have the general abilities of the hill giant, al-
runes. For the unlucky and the disrespectful,
though they can cam e disease or madness up
the sea giants appear by seizing the gunwales
to three times per day. Their appearance is not
and dragging the vessel down.
quite so primitive as the hill giant. Thursir
Because there is so little contact between
stand about 20 to 25 tall. Their hair and man and sea giant, it is almost impossible to
beards are wild and unkempt and their ears
say what the motives of these beings are. They
are noticeablely large. They dress in crude,
are neutral evil in alignment, although, as has
rustic clothing, often heavily patched, and
been noted, they are known to perform help-
fight with cudgels fashioned from trees.
ful acts for a lucky few.
The thursir have lived for as long as the jo-
ten. However, they are not nearly so blessed
with intellectual ability or power as their Trolls
brother giants. The thursir tend to be slow- The most common creatu
witted and easily tricked or enraged. They live out the Viking lands are trolls, but they are far
by themselves in wildernesses just beyond the different creatures from those described in the

A D & D @ Monstrous Compendium. Trolls of great asset on the battlefield.

Scandinavia range fro m hideously ugly, huge,
and hulking t o human in size and appearance. Trow
Yet even these normal-seeming trolls are ve ry
different fro m humans. The trow is a sea-troll, most often foun
Scandinavian trolls have the same statistics around the O rkn ey and Shetland islands. It
as ogres as defined in the AD & D Monstrous neither a handsome nor friendly creature.
Compendium. They are not the creatures de- has the abilities and general appearance of a
scribed as trolls in those products. M ost im- ogre, but it can function equally well on lan
portantly, the trolls of Scandinavia do not and sea. The trow can breathe air or wat
and swims at the same speed it can mov e o
regenerate
However,damage.
like most other creatures of the land. The t row hate humans, especially tho
wh o venture into their fishing territory. It ty
region, the Scandinavian troll is highly skilled
ically attacks by overturning the fisherman
in magic. Of those encountered, 50% are
boat and then drowning the crew. Tro
highly intelligent wizards of 5th to 13th level.
This in particular makes them cunning and homes are usually found in the rocky clif
dangerous, since they have little l ov e of man- along the sea-shore.
kind who has usurped their position on the
Earth.
In appearance, the troll varies greatly.
Those found in Norway, the British Isles, and
distant eastern lands are comm only huge and
ugly. As such, they look like ogres although
they dress better, wearing the clothes of their
region (not crude skins or furs). They fight
with the same kinds of weapons and armor as
their human neighbors, although these are
scaled for their larger size.
In Sweden and parts of Denmark, the troll
looks almost human, like one of the troll-
born. They tend to be som ewhat bigger than
humans, though not remarkably so. These
trolls are not particularly ugly and a fe w can
even be described as handsome. However,
they are still trolls, and therefore dangerous to
humans.
Trolls are not social creatures. Each fami ly
(for trolls hav e wive s and children, too) lives
more or less by itself. Their homes are found
in deep woods, rocky sea-cliffs, high moun-
tains, and deserted heaths. A troll wi ll some-
times seek out a human mate, although why
they feel the need is a secret only they know .
A fe w troll wizards have been known t o ally
themselves with particularly cruel or evil


Though the Vikings did quite a lot of raid Trade Go od Appro ximat e Cash Valu
and pillaging, they also settled and colo- 6 yds. o f Icelandic cloth 1 0 2 . of silv
various areas. A s an outgrowth of this 1 lave 10 2 of silv
a1 maturation, they discovered the ne-
essity of commerce. The reasoning goes Finally, the Vikings also used silver f
mething like this: I have expanded to nearly trade. Mints were established by kings
e limit of m y ability to travel. In the course Scandinavia, England, and Ireland and the
,f m y exploration, I have encountered other produced a variety of silver pennies and ha
Jeople with things I would like to have. Some pennies. Although by tradition these coin
If these people I have been able to beat into were all supposed to be the same size an
Isubmission, forcing them

not. I gi
to ve m e the things we&, in actualfrom
practice they weighed
varied greatl
want. Others I have have also discov- Silver dirhams Arabia mo
ered that there are people who may be able to than local coins. The same mint mlght low
beat me into submission to get things they the weight o f its ow n coins if the king neede
want. Perhaus there is another wav to do money. Scoundrels and thieves would "shave
things . silver coins, literally cutting aw ay a bit of th
This line of reasoning leads to commerce. precious metal t o melt do wn and thus lowe
Comm erce, in time, leads to ing the value of the coin.
Because of all this, the only way to us
Money coins was t o weigh them and price everythin
t o according to weight, not number of coin
The people of the Viking age used many dif- Merchants carried collapsible scales for ju
ierent w ay s to settle business transactions-so this purpose. Paying by weight had the add
many, in fact, that it could become quite con- tional advantage that a man or woman cou
fusing in a campaign. For simplicity, these are wear their wealth as silver jewelry. Men an
reduced to three methods: debts of honor, women commonly wore silver armbands, o
barter (what w e call "swapping" or "trading"), ten in the pattern of coiled snakes or dragon
2nd cash. Then, when money was needed, a portion
A debt of honor is fairly simple and the armband could be cut of f and weighed
straight-forward: I do something for you, and payment. These armbands and other silver o
someday you will repay me in kind. This con- naments were called hack-silver, since th
cept applies to all games and all cultures. Ob- were literally chopped to pieces. The sam
viously, this type of arrangement is only made fate was in store for silver coins that wer e t o
between people wh o trust each other or have large.
no other choice. Players can work this how- For convenience to players and D M s lik
ever they want. the Scandinavian monetary system is som
For barter the Vikings had a variety of use- what standardized here. While the weight
ful goods that could be exchanged. These in- coins and equivalents given here are not pe
cluded cattle, sheep, land, ships, fish, and a fectly historical, they are close enough to ke
whole variety of other goods. Bartering relies the feel of the Viking age. Certainly it will
on the intrinsic skill of the buyer and seller, so far easier fo r players and DMs if they do n
there is no absolute value fo r a c ow, fo r exam- have to calculate everything according t o t
ple. Howeve r, the fol low ing relationships can price of a sheep or co w Table 3: Vikin
be used as a guideline. Welghts lists the different names fo r welgh
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book and their modern equivalents. Table 4: Vikin
58/106

erage weight for buying items, and the ap- the prices listed below.
proximate AD&D@ game equivalent. The
equivalent allows the DM to convert the Available Equipment
prices of items listed in the AD&D 2nd Edition
Player's Handbo ok into prices usable in a Vi- As noted above, the Viking age is techno
king campaign. Finally, Table 5: Coin/Weight logically and culturally different from th
Conversions lists the number of available standard AD&D fantasy campaign. Not ever
coins needed to equal the Viking weights al- item on the Weapon and Equipment lists wi
ready given. be available. Some of it had not yet been in
vented in the times of the Vikings. Other
Table 3: Viking Weights and Coins were beyond the resources of the Vikings o
their neighbors. Some items can be found, bu
Vi@ Weight Modern Equivalent they are extremely rare.
In addition, the equipment lists in the Play
Pennigar ' / 3 0 OZ.
er's Han dbook do not include some items pe
Otrogar v 3 oz.
culiar to the Viking age, particularly th
Ore 1 ounce
varieties of ships the Scandinavian craftsme
~
Mark unces (V2 lb.)
built.
The two tables below reflect these differ
Table 4: Viking Coins
ences. Table 6: Equipment Adjustments list
those items not found or rarely found in a Vi
Coin Type Average Game
king campaign. This table is for use with th
Weight Equivalent*
equipment lists presented in the AD&D 2nd
Half-Penny (xP) 1/40 oz. 5 CP Edition Player's Handbo ok. Price adjustment
Silver Penny (P) 1/20 oz. 1 SP are marked for some items, using Viking
Arab Dirham 1/10 02. 2 SP weights (and equivalent silver penny costs)
Any item marked N/ A is not available for us
* The gold piece, electrum piece, and plati- in the campaign. (The DM may want to pho
num piece have no equivalent coins in the Vi- tocopy the lists in the Players Handbook and
king age. They convert to silver penny as mark the changes on these copies.) The secon
follows: 1EP = 5 P; 1GP = 10 P; and 1PP = list presents new items that can be bought in a
50 P. Viking campaign.
Calculating the cost (in Viking terms) o
Table 5: Approx. CoinMreight Conversion any item not listed below is relatively simple
For expensive items, divide the gp cost by 16
Pen. Otr. Ore Mark The result is the equivalent number of mark
Half-penny 1 12 40 320 for the item. Prices listed in silver pieces can
Penny l/2 6 20 160 be converted directly to silver pennies, one fo
Arab Dirham l14 3 10 80 one.
Because coins could vary greatly in weight

either from manufacture or fraud), the DM
n vary the coidweight conversions by as
ch as 25% any time he so desires. ("Well,
these pennies are little light. It's going to take
25 of them to make an ore.") This can affect

Table 6: Equipment Adjustments I 10 Marks (1600 P)

Sedan chair N/A
Clothing
Item cost Miscellaneous Equipment
Silk jacket 10 Marks(1,600 P) Item cost
Toga N/A Block and tackle N/A
Chain (any, per f t .) 1 Mark (160 P)
Daily Food and Lodging Glass bottle 4 Ore (80P)
Item cost Lantern (any) N/A
City rooms N/ A* Lock, good N/A
Common wine (pitcher) 1 Otrogar (6 P) Poor 6 Marks (960 P)
Inn lodging N/ A* Magnifying glass N/A
Merchant’s scale 1Ore (
Household Provisioning Oil, greek fire N/A*
Item cost Paper N/A
Figs (per Ib.) 1Mark (160 P) Papyrus N/A
Raisins (per lb.) 1 Mark (160 P) Parchment N/ A*
Salted herring (per 100) 1 Otrogar (6 P) Rope, hemp (50 feet) 1 Ore ( 2 0 P)
Spice, exotic (per Ib.) 5 Marks (800 P) silk N/A
Rare (per lb.) 3 Marks (480 P) Spyglass N/A
Uncommon (per lb.) 1 Mark (160 P) Thieve’s picks N/A* *
Tun of good wine Water clock N/A
(250 gal.) 4 Marks (640 Writing ink
P) N/A*
Tack and Harness Animals
Item cost Item cost
Barding, half padded N/ A* Camel N/A
half scale N/A* Elephant N/A
all other types N/A Horse, draft N/A
Yoke, horse N/A heavy war N/A
Hunting cat N/A
Transport Peacock N/A
Item cost Pigeon, homing N/A
Canoe (all types) N/A
Caravel
Carriage (all types) N
N // A
A Weapons
Item cost
Chariot (all types) N/A Arquebus N/A
cog N/A Blowgun N/A
Drakkar 1,500 Marks Bow, composite
(240,000 P) long bow N/A
Dromond N/ A* Crossbow (any) N/A
Galleon N/A Lance, heavy horse N/A
Great eallev N/A Jousting N/A
Knarr 100 Marks (16,000 P) Mancatcher N/A
Longship (large) 150 Marks (24,000 P)
Oar 1 Otrogar (6P)

Polearm, awl pike NIA Table 7: New Equipment

Bec de corbin NIA
Bill-guisarme NIA Item
Fauchard-fork NIA Bearing dial
Glaive-guisarme NIA Cauldron and tripod
Guisarme-voulge NIA Comb
Hook fauchard NIA Ships
Lucerne hammer NIA Faering
Ranseur NIA Longship, small
Scourge NIA Sexaering 10 Marks (1600 P)
Staff sling NIA Skates 1Otrogar (6 P)
Sword, khopesh NIA Skis 1Otrogar (6 P)
Scimitar N/A Sleigh 10 Marks (1600 P)
Two-handed NIA Wagon 15 Marks (2400 P)
Armor Equipment Descriptions

Item cost
Banded mail Bearing Dial: This simple device looks
NIA
Brigandine something like a top, and is an important aid
NIA
for navigation. It is a flat wooden disk with a
Bronze plate mail NIA
Field plate handle on the bottom and a pin and pointer
NIA
Full plate on the top. Around the edge of the dial are
N/A
Helmet, great helm markings for the different directions. To use
NIA
Plate mail N/A the bearing dial, the captain would take a
Ring mail sighting on the rising sun (or North Star at
NIA
Scale mail night), aligning the east mar- on the dial to
N/A*
Splint mail NIA his slghting. He can then set the pointer to any
other direction and thus show his new head-
* These items are not available in Scandinavi- ing. While a seemingly simple device, the
an lands. City rooms and inns may be found bearing dial was a great advance in ocean nav-
in large trading centers or cities of the Frank- igation at the time.
ish and Byzantine empires. Dromonds, scale
Comb: Combs were valuable trade items
mail, horse barding, and scimitars may be and gifts, simply because they were hard to
found in Byzantine or Arab lands; Greek fire make. The teeth were carved from a thin piece
was a secret of the Byzantines. Writing ink of wood, whalebone or other material. This
and parchment can be found at centers of sheet was then mounted between two other
learning, such as monasteries or courts out- pieces of wood, ivory, amber, antler, or other
side Scandinavia. ornamental material to make the handle.
Combs were often elaborately decorated with
** With locks uncommon, there is no devel- -
silver or gold fittims. These were treasures in
oped ar t for picking locks. The DM can allow their own right.
a collection of small saws and blades useful Faering: The faerin
for breaking and entering. Still, such a kit sleek, sturdy boat fitt
ried no sail. The ship
would not be found in Scandinavian lands.
four to six and their ge
oarsmen, the faering could mak

200 feet per round. The faering was sometimes walking man. (Hills and valleys tend to cance
used as a ship's boat, towed behind the long- each other out.)
ship. Sleigh: This is another important item fo
Longship, small: This ship was similar to its winter travel, since a man on skis cannot hau
larger cousin, differing only in the overall much. A small sleigh could carry up to 300
length and slightly narrower beam. The small pounds. The sleigh could be pulled at half nor
long ship was an average of 60 feet in length. mal movement rate by one reindeer or two
It had the same speed and performance as its men wearing snowshoes or skis. Dog team
slightly larger brother, but oars were limited were not used by Vikings.
to about 1 6 to a side. The standard crew was Wagon: V k n g wagons were small and of
30 sailors, but it could carry a maximum of 75 ten highly ornamented. They were mainly
to 100. Cargo capacity was limited to 30 tons. used for ceremonial purposes and as means of
Sexaering: The sexaering was a small fish- transport for well-bred women. They wer
ing boat, approximately 40 feet long. The ves- only effective where there were roads, an un
sel was fitted with six oars and a small mast. It common feature in the rugged mountain land
normally carried six to 10 comfortably, but of Scandinavia. Most often hitched to an ox, a
could load up to 30 sailors if needed. It can wagon can carry up to 500 pounds and move
travel 60 feet per round, either rowed or at the beast's normal movement rate.
sailed. The cargo capacity was about two
tons. The sexaering was a common working Treasure
ship found on the coasts. Although relatively
Since the Vikings did not have a coin-base
seaworthy, sailors did not sail it out into the
economy, the treasure hoards characters may
open seas.
Skates: Viking skates were simple but prac- find in their adventures are seldom going to b
convenient stacks of gold and silver. A certai
tical affairs made of a bone blade fastened to a
portion of a treasure will be silver pennies and
leather shoe. Just like the ones today, they al-
dirhams, but in a large hoard the bulk of th
lowed one to move across frozen water at nor-
treasure will be items valued for their crafts
mal movement speed (or greater). Skates must
manship as much as their material. Jewelry
be removed when not on ice, however.
goldwork, woodcarvings, silversmithing, and
Skis: Viking skis, unlike the slick, highly re-
glassware all represent sources of treasure in
fined and expensive downhill skis of today,
the Viking age.
were more along the lines of today's snow-
The list below gives some indication of th
shoes or cross-country skis. Speeding down-
variety of forms such treasures can take. No
hill was unknown to the Norsemen. In
monetary value is assigned to any of these ob
general, their skis were broader and the bind-
ings were loose. A single pole was used, car- jects, since 1 it is impossible to know how
valuable these items really were, and 2) th
ried like a high-wire artist. To climb the
value of similar items can vary greatly de
slopes, seal-skins were tied to the bottom of
pending on the skill of the craftsman. Th
the skis, giving the climbers traction. No lift
items listed here are representative of actua
tickets here
finds from Viking hoards and burial mounds
Skis allow a character to move across snow
This list could be expanded by many items
with greater ease. On level ground and small
since many things did not survive burial
slopes, the skier can travel at his normal
These include fine cloths and tapestries, fur
movement rate. Going up slopes is done at
walrus ivory, and wood carvings. Further
half the normal rate. For long distance travel,
more, there were items taken from othe
a skier can move as fast and far as a normal

lands. Crucifixes, reliquaries, chalices, book- ing when converted to terms suitable to a Vi-
mounts, crozier-heads, and much more were w campai
looted from the west.
500 dirhams
Amber beads and pendants from Wendland One gold armband (2,000 P)
Bone comb-case Four silver brooches weighing 5 ore each
Braided gold neck rings (100P each)
Braided silver arm rings One small gold and silver casket set with gar-
Carolingian gold coins converted to pendants nets (4,000 )
Carved jet pendants from England This certainly makes for a more colorful trea-
Carved wood horse collars with gilt-bronze sure hoard
fittings
Carved wooden chest Magical Items
Gilt-bronze and silver caskets
Gilt-bronze, chased bridle mounts I've a sword called Tyrfing, made b y d w a m
Gold and walrus ivory casket who swore it could bite anything, even iron
Gold arm rings and rock.
Gold disks (bracteates) Arrow- Odd
Gold filigree brooches
Gold rings Viking lore is filled with all manner of magi-
Gold spurs cal items, from dwarf-forged swords to silken
Gold pendants shirts with magical powers. Many saga heroes
Multi-colored glass beads from Rhineland carry weapons that can "bite through iron"
Necklace of crystal and carnelian and wear

even morearmor that "no
fantastic iron can
treasures canbite." Other,
be had by
Necklace of crystal beads set in silver
Painted woodcarvings those bold enough or worthy of such rewards.
Rheinish glassware Still, the number of magical items in a Vi-
Sheets of embossed gold foil king campaign is probably nothing like that
Silver and cloisonne enamel brooch found in the typical AD&D game world. The
Silver bowls player characters (or NPCs) are not going to
Silver cauldron be carrying bundles of scrolls, potions,
Silver cloak pin wands, and miscellaneous items. Most magi-
Silver engraved cup cal items will be weapons and armor, with just
Silver filigree brooches a sprinkling of other items. This mix reflects
Silver rings the warrior culture of the period.
Silver Thor's hammer pendant
Silver-inlaid axe head Existing Items
Spear head decorated with silver Not all magical items listed in the A D b D
Sword hilt decorated with silver Dungeon Master's Guide are appropriate to a
Walrus ivory gaming pieces Viking setting. Including the vast array of
tomes, wands, scrolls, dusts, decanters, and
The DM is encouraged to use his the like only detracts from the unique cam-
imagination in creating a treasure hoard. For paign world of Viking fantasy.
example, the player characters might discover Table 8: Viking Magical Items should be
a troll's hoard (worth 720 GP in standard used instead of Table 88: Magical Items (from
AD&D@ ame terms) that contains the follow- the Dungeon Master's G uid e) when determin-

ing the general type of magical item found. priests only. However, the DM can allow cer-
The table here has important differences, par- tain items to be used by an y character. For ex-
picularly in the absence of certain categories of ample, a runecaster might discover and learn
items (such as scrolls). the use of a stuff of curing. In this case, the
ability to use the item is rationalized as a gift
Table 8 : V i n g Magical Items from the gods.
dlOO Table 9:Unavailable Magical Items

Roll Category
Potions and Oils
01-05 Potions and Oils
06 Rings Animal Control
07-10 Staves Climbing
11-12 Misc. Magic: Jewels &Jewelry Diminution
13-18 Misc. Magic: Cloaks & Robes Dragon Control
19-20 Misc. Magic: Boots Gloves ESP
21-22 Misc. Magic: Girdles Helms Giant Control
23-25 Misc. Magic: Household Items Human Control
26-30 Misc. Magic: Musical Instruments Levitation
31-35 Viking Items Oil of Elemental Invulnerability
36-55 Armor and Shields Oil of Etherealness
56-99 Weapons Oil of Impact
00 Special Plant Control
Polymorph Self
n withii these tables, not all magical Rainbow Hues
are available. Table 9: Unavailable Treasure Finding
ical Items lists those things not found in a Undead Control
mpaign. Although the list of exclud-
may seem restrictive to a fantasy Rings
ers must accept certain limitations
their characters' magical power. The Vi- Blinking
g realm is a world of men and women who Chameleon Power
nost often stand or fall by their own abilities. Djinni Summoning
Because an item is excluded by Table 9 (or Elemental Command
ble 8 above) does not mean it can never ap- Feather Falling
ear in play. However, before it is introduced Human Influence
o the campaign, the DM must think of a Mammal Control
ar explanation for why and how the item Mind Shielding
ot to where it is. For example, a ring of djinni Shooting Stars
oning just might be found - f the play- Telekinesis
racters were adventuring somewhere in Water Walking
region of the Caspian Sea and had come Wizardry
ss the treasure of an Arab wizard. (Ele- X-Ray Vision
tals are far more common to the mythol-
g y of southern lands.)
- A number of magical items are usable by

Staves Household Items
Command Braziers (all)

Magi Mirrors (all)
Power Rugs (all)
Swarming Insects
Musical Instruments
Jewels and Jewelry
Chimes (all)
Amulets (all) Horn of Bubbles
Medallions (all) Horn of the Tritons
Phylacteries (all) Lyre of Building
Scarab versus Golems Pipes (all)
Talisman of the Sphere
Talisman of Zagy Armor and Shield
Cloaks and Robes Onlv armor tvoes

I available to the Vikine
"
campaign can be found. Thus, there is no
Cloak of Arachnida magical plate mail, field plate, e
Cloak of Displacement
Cloak of the Bat Weapons
Cloak of the Manta Ray
Robe of Eyes Crossbows (all)
Robe of Scintillating Colors Nets (all)
Robe of Stars Scimitar of Speed
Tridents (all)
Boots, Bracers, and Gloves Sword of the Planes
Boots of Levitation New Magical Items

Boots of Varied Tracks
The new magical items listed below ar e only
Boots, Winged
part of the strange and wond rous things de-
Bracers of Brachiation
scribed in sagas and legends. In particular,
Slippers of Spider Climbing
there are numerous dwarven-made items not
included here, since these devices were the
Girdles, Hats, and Helms
urouertv of the gods. Plaver characters have
Girdle of Femininity/Masculinity
Helm of Brilliance
Helm of Telepathy
Helm of Teleportation
Helm of Underwater Action

ble 10: Viking Magical Ite nary material, it has no special powers unt
the command word is spoken. when act
d20Roll Item vated, the cloak molds to the wearer’s bod
1 Bottomless Drinking Horn and shapechanges its owner (and all his pos
2 Cloak of Dryness sessions) into a falcon. The character has
3 Cloak of Fire Resistance flying speed of 33, maneuverability class B
4 Feathered Cloak The feathered cloak functions for 2d12 turn
5-6 Gusir‘s Gifts and then immediately shuts down for on
7 Helm of Terror turn. After this pause, it can be activate
8 Mirror of Transformation again.
9-10 Necklace of Protection Gusir‘s Gifts: Gusir’s gifts are magical a

11-12 Reed-Stalk Spear ..rows found in bundles of ld3 . They are fin
13 Riding Stick looking examples of the fletcher‘s craft wi
14 Ringo fMo ney golden feathers and wonderfully wrough
15-16 Silken Shirt of Invulnerability shafts. If detections are made, they appear t
17-18 Sleep-Thorn be + 1 arrows and do give this bonus to a
19-20 Stone Arrows tacks. However, after hitting their target, th
arrows magically streak back to their owne
Magical Item Descdptlons returning to the quiver where they can be use
again. Each arrow possesses only l d 4 charge
Bottomless Drinking Horn This device is a
however. Each shot with the costs
large, fine-looking dr nking horn with silver-
charge and when all the charges are spent, th
work a round
inside. Upon the rim. Runes
uttering these are etched
runes, theonhorn
the lose their magical properties.
The arrows are called Gusir’s Gifts becau
fills with mead or beer, as the owner chooses.
they were Once property of King Gusir o
It remains filled but not overflowing, no mat-
Lapland, He, in turn, got these arrows fro
ter how much is drunk, until the owner gives
the cunning dwarves who made them.
the command once again. At that point, the
Helm of Terror: This powerful magical ite
horn can be emptied as a normal cup.
is one of the most famous of all treasures. Ac
‘lo* Of This long ‘‘Oak
cording to the Prose Eddu, it originally b
is of exquisite manufacture. Its magical prop-
longed to Hriedmar, to whom the gods we
erty is such that anyone wearing it will not be- of gold. Hriedmar
, forced to pay a
come wet Or ‘Old, no matter what the
turn was killed by his sons, Fafnir and Regi
The helm of terror is an awe-inspiring item

Feathered Cloak: This cloak is made from Upon command, it can cuuSe fear in all wh
falcon feathers fixed together to form a long, see it (90t radius), with a -2 on the savin
flowing garment. Aside from its extraordi-
1

armor class. Upon uttering a second com- streams are passable. Upon another command
mand word , the wearer can become invisible. word, the stick confers invisibility upon anyone
There is no limit to the number of times per touching it. This power only works so long as
da y these pow ers can be exercised. the character holds the stick and it is not used
Howev er, the helm of terror was part of a for any other purpose. The latter two uses of the
treasure and as such carries a little bit stick require one charge each. When ound, the
evil w ith it. So long as a person owns stick contains 3d10 charges. T h e tick cannot be
, whether it is with him or not, the recharged, and when all charges are spent it be-
r suffers rom bad luck as defined in comes a club 2.
Ring of Money: This gold ring is a very
m o r of Transformation This mirror valuable magical item, a treasure beyond all
like
ns a ing
look highly
into polished
it will see piece of unusu-
nothing silver. worth.
full day,Each evening,
the ring createsafter
Id 8 being worn for
nonmagical cop-a
n truth, it has two functions. First, if the ies of itself. Each cop y is worth 1 ore (20 P).
nd word is spoken when a person is There is a 5 % chance with each use that the
nto the mirror, that person can be po- ring will fail. W hen this happens, the ring of
ymorphed as the owne r of the mirror desires. money loses all magical properties, although
te that the owner of the mirror is not neces- it still has a value o f 1 ore tself.
ily the person looking into the mirror. If a Silken Shirt of nvulnerability: This m agical
econd command word is spoken, all those item can be found in a variety of fabrics and
g at the mirror must make a saving styles, ranging from simple woolen cloth to
ow vs. death or be permanently blinded. lustrous silk trimmed with gold. The powers
ose who make the saving throw are unaf- of these shirts can vary greatly and when
Only one function of the mirror can found, the DM hould roll on the table below
e at any given time. to determine the item’s exact nature.
klace of Protection This necklace,
f silver, crystals, and beads, confers 1-3 +1 protection
e benefit as a ring of protection +1. 4-6 AC4
Stalk Spear: This magical weapon ap- 7 Immunity to poison
ars to b e nothing m ore than a harmless and 8 Immunity to fire and cold
sy reed, such as could be found in any 9 Immun ity to missile weapons
sh. In actuality, it is a spear I , causing 10 Immunity to drow ning
Ld6 +1 points of damage per attack. The reed
stalk spea r can be thrown twice the distance of Immunity to fire and cold applies only to
3 normal spear. natural sources (flaming buildings and arctic
Riding S t i c k Thi s magical item appears to be cold included). Th e character suffers no dam-
n o t h i i more than a crooked stick. T h e stick age fro m these. For magical attacks, the char-
has several powers. If used as a weapon, it is acter suffers half or n o damage, depending on
equal o a club 2 . Straddled and activated by his saving throw. Immunity to drowning
a command word, the riding stick cames the means that character can stay at the surface of
character along at a movement rate of 32. It can a body of water indefinitely; the shirt will
maintain this speed for ld6 turns after which a keep him afloat so long as the character is no t
ful turn must pass beiore it can be activated carrying more than his maximum weight lim-
again. T h e haracter does not fly, but skims ust it. O f course, if the character we re trapped in
above the ground. It cannot be used to cross a sealed barrel with n o access to air, the shirt
large bodies of water, although rivers and would b e of little value.

Sleep-thom This magical item appears to

be the thorn of a plant about three inches Viking Swords
long. It is dry and smooth to the touch, giving
no indication of its venomous capabilities. In addition to magical powers, w e a w s
When pricked by the thorn, the victim must especially swords, had names a nd historie
make a saving throw vs. paralyzation. If it of importance. These often explained th
fails, the character falls into a deep slumber. nature of the swords power or affected it
He will not awaken unless attacked or roused career in some way. Below are some exam
by another person. Noises, even those of bat- ples of magical swords from myth and leg
tle, will not rouse the victim. end.
A small number of these thorns (5%) are Gram-Sigurd's sword, made by Regi
even more extreme. Any character affected by from the shattered pieces of the swor
these falls into a state of suspended animation. Odin gave to Sigmund, Sigurds father.
The victim (and his gear) does not age or Hroffi-Fafnir's sword which became par
change in any way. When pricked by one of of his treasure hoard. It passed into th
these, the victim can only be awakened by ei- hands of Sigurd when he killed Fafnir.
ther a specific circumstance defined by the Mimming-Sword made by the gian
person using the sleep-thorn, or a wish spell. Mimir.
(In some versions of the Volsung saga, Odin is Refil-Regin's sword, which he used to ki
said to have used one of these sleep-thorns to his father.
punish the valkyrie Brynhild, decreeing that Snidil-The finest of weapons, it belonge
she could only be awakened by a man who to Simir, who had many adventures i
knew
Eachnothorn
fear.)can only be used once. the East.
Tyrfing-Made by the dwarves, it wa
Stone Arrows: These weapons are identical stolen by King Svafrlami who lost it t
to normal arrows, except they are made of Angrim. Angrim gave it to his son
stone. They are normally found in bundles of Angantyr, who died on Samso. Th
ld 3. Each arrow can only be used once. They dwarves supposedly cursed the sword s
can be shot from any normal bow. When that it would bring death to its owner.
used the archer whispers the name of his tar-
get to the arrow and then fires the shot. The
arrow flies as a + 5 arrow toward the target
named a nd ignores all range modifiers. If the
arrow hits, it causes 3d6 + 5 points of damage.
Regardless of whether the ar row hits or
misses, it shatters at the end of its flight.


CHAPTER
The age of the Vikings was a vastly differ- DMs preparing a Viking campaign shoul
ent world from those generally portrayed in read through this chapter carefully, since th
the A D & W rules set. Many of the common information here is important when creating
pieces of equipment an d nonmagical devices fully realized world. Details of dress, food
found in a standard fantasy world simply shelter, home life, customs, and law are de
were not available in either the Norse lands or scribed in basic detail here. Unfortunately
anywhere in Europe. With the decline of the this single chapter cannot adequately cove
great empires of Rome and Byzantium, many every detail of Viking culture. Numerou
scientific and technological wonders disap- books, for every age and degree of seriou
peared into the bleak maw of the Dark Ages. ness, have been published describing the V
It is a common mistake to equate lack of kings and to

encouraged their
check way of library
a local life. DMs ar
or book
technology with barbarism. Failure to build
the printing press does not make a people illit- store for additional background material. A
erate savages. The lack of technology needed list of suggested titles was given at the end o
to build one does not mean they are primitive. Chapter 2.
Many people only look a t the lack of crafts,
machines, a nd sciences and from these decide Ivar’s Year
the Vikings were coarse ruffians who lived on-
To best illustrate what Viking life was lik
ly t o loot and pillage.
this section follows a year in the life of Iv
Viking culture was primitive, but not always
Olafsson. Ivar is a young fighter and this yea
barbaric. It was shaped by the land and needs
A.D. 841, marks his first voyage oversea
of the people. The Viings were masters at
crafts important to their lifestyle, using the ma- Naturally
more he has
to learn. muchnot
While to be excited about
everything an
that ha
terials they had commonly available. That
pens to Ivar would really happen in the spa
they lacked centers of pottery-making or book-
of a single year, his adventures will serve
writing does not imply backwardness, only
illustrate many important points of Viking li
that the resources needed were not available.
and culture. As Ivar’s adventures unfold, e
Up to now, with chapters describing raids
planations and game information are given
an d warfare, warriors, monsters, a nd magical
the screened sections of the text.
weapons, readers can be forgiven if they as-
sume the Vikings and their kin were barbaric
savages who lived for nothing but blood and
warfare. The Vikings did raid and conquer; it Ivar is the third son of a minor hersir (n
is pointless to deny this. However, by focus- bleman) named Olaf of Sogn. His two old
ing so much on their violent exploits, it is easy brothers, Halfdan and Egil, have already bee
to lose sight of the gentle and sophisticated as- to Dublin and Hedeby several times. Ivar,
pects of Viking life. 16, has been asking for permission to go on
Besides being warriors, the Vikings were al- voyage for several years. As the spring a
so farmers, explorers, statesmen, judges, po- rives, his father Olaf agrees to let the youth g
ets, craftsmen, merchants, and artisans. Not abroad.
everyone who took to the longships was a Vi- However, there are conditions and comp
king; not every Viking was uncouth. Kings cations that must be dealt with before Ivar c
and chieftains included skalds among their leave. Olaf won’t let any of his sons leave f
crews, even as they sailed into battle, to see several months. Worse still, Ivar has a reput
and report on their glories. (Making the skalds
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book tion as a “coal-chewer.”Halfdan, Ivar’s olde
70/106

Ol af can only outfit a single ship, Iv ar won ’t

be oining any raids this year.
Sure enough, Halfdan sails without Ivar.

Not surprisingly, the would-be warrior is in a
foul m ood and has few kind thoughts fo r his
brother. A few days later, tw young neigh-
Still, it was much more common for a bors, Thorir and Einar, arrive at the farm.
youth to remain at home until he was 16 or They are a rough and unpopular pair, boastful
18, when he was mature e n o u g h to go vi- of their own abilities. They challenge several
king (the term for raiding). As in Ivar’s other youths to a ball game. The challenge is
case, a youth would travel under the pro- taken up, and on the first day Th orir and
tection of an older brother, father, uncle, or Einar break the arm of one of the players. O n
other relation. the second day, they almost kill another play -
Olaf‘s insistence on waiting for several er and their boasting grows even worse. Fi-
months is based on practicality. During nally, on the third day, they try Ivar. In
winter, early spring, and late fall the Nor th
Sea is far too stormy for safe sailing. The defense,
and killsIvhim.
ar cracks
Einarareturns
stone over Thorir’s
to his head
o w n home
brothers must wait until the sailing weather and tells what has happened. O n ly after some
improves. Second, the ship must be outfit- difficulty does Olaf negotiate a settlement.
ted for the voyage. A k o , there is much Ivar has no w gained a small reputation that
work to do around the farm. Winter dam- stands him in goo d stead when a duelist from
age to the fences and barns must be re- Sweden arrives. Finding some small offense,
paired. F a d s must be plowed and planted the duelist challenges Olaf to a holrngangu, or
with the seed set aside from last year‘s har- duel. Olaf of Sogn is getting old and knows he
vest. This takes a lot of work, most of could lose. Seeing the chance for fame, Ivar
which is done by the thralls, but the famify offers to fight in O la fs stead. Since there is no
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book one else, Olaf reluctantly agrees. Af te r a fierce
71/106

exchange of blows, Ivar prevails and kills the

duelist. Pleased with his son, Olaf adranges a
ship for Ivar. He will get to o abroad iafter all. an, the two established the condi
hat was to be forfeited by the
s was often half the other man's
It was not necessary to fight t
because a man could surrender
stained the cloth. The winner
uel claimed the prize. If one o
as killed, the winner usually
o compensation to the family
rticularly fierce and daring fight
nally worked as "hired guns."
like the duelist above, would
and hope to win property from '
themselves or a sponsor. Such
eldom popular.
is success in the duel, Iva
a long way toward changing his "
er image. The neighbors are
re confident in the youths ability.
friends form a drengr, a br
young men sworn to each
to a street gang today). Wi
and the huskarlar Olaf sends
ar has enough crew to outfit a
Summer
After an exciting spring, Ivar has his knaa
and is ready to sail. Olaf provides a small car
go of trade goods. Among the crew is Hrolf
Ivar's foster-father. When wind and tide ar
right, Ivar sets sail for Denmark.
After several days of sailing along the coast
one of the crew spots a longship headed i
their direction. One of Ivar's fellow dreng
who has the s e c o n d sight says the approachin
ship has no luck. Encouraged by this, an
since they are slower than the warship, Iva
brings the knaar about and orders his men t
get ready to fight. The battle at first look
hopeless, but the dreng's prediction hold
true. Ivar and his crew prevail, taking a num
ber of prisoners.


After the battle, Ivar puts in at the nearest

island to bury his dead and get oaths from his
prisoners. After this is done, Iv ar divides his
crew between the two ships and t a b them
both to Hedeby.
Luck is not goo d at Hedeby. Ivar does not
get much for his cargo and so decideis to sell
the knaar. H e doesn't have enough we w for
both ship anyway. Although Hedeby is an
exciting place, it quickly prove s too much for
Ivar. With a fully crewed longship under his
comm and, Iva r announces he plans to go raid-
ing along the coast of England. The crew agree
that this is a fine idea.

remain for the winter. Ivar and some of his

ading towns like Hedeby, Kaupang,
crew remain, while the remainder of his men
Birka were major centers. The town
go to their relatives on other islands through-
,would be impressive to a farmboy, al-
out the Orkneys. T hey all agree to return here
' hough it was nothing mor e than a collec-
in the spring.
tion of simple one-story houses,
surrounded by gardens and l i n k e d by
:plank ed streets. A n earth rampart and
wooden palisade surrounded the town to
I protect it from raiders. Here, merchants
,from Frisia, Wendland, Ssxland, and be-
yond came to buy a n d sell. Christian mis-
i
sionaries sought new converts. Gaels,
Scots, and Slavs p a s 4 through the slave '
markets. There was even the occasional
traveler from Arab ia. By the mid-season,
though, many of the merchants would
have already finished their business and
started fo r ho me.
Fall
Striking out across the open sea, Ivar and
his men make good time for England. Sighting
the coast, they pr ow l along it until they come
upon a small village. Their supplies are start-
ing to r un low, so Iva r decides to make a raid.
Landing on a beach just out of sight, the crew
surprise the villagers. The battle is swift and
one-sided. Ivar's men wo rk quickly, befo re the
loc al militia can muster and arrive.
Loaded with booty, Ivar proceeds up the
coast, ma @ several mo re raids. Alon g the
way he meets Halfdan, his brother, also raid-
ing the coast. Ivar, having long since forg iven
his brother, joins forces with him. Together
they continue goin g north, but luck gradually
goes against them. Finally, Halfdan proposes
they sail fo r home.
Turning their ships back out o nto the ocean,
the tw o vessels become separated by a storm.
After several harrowing days, Ivar finally
sights land. Struggling with his damaged ship
alon g the coast, I va r learns he has been blow n
to the Orkneys. There Ivar and his crew are
taken in b y a prosperous farmer and invited t o

even the household slaves, lives in the long

house where it is almost comfortable and
warm. Ivar can only wonder if his brothe
Halfdan made it home safely.
Finally the weather breaks and spring ar
rives. Messengers are dispatched to the othe
farms and Ivar's crew is reassembled. Gener
ous gifts are exchanged between Ivar and hi
host. Eager to return home. Ivar Olafsson set
sail for Norway.
time to rest and endu

eparations were made before th
oze and the weather closed in.
for the fires, while others sco
ches for driftwood. On the
e were precious few trees and
of the hay was brought in from

s. After this, the fences to the f
stubble. Livestock was butchered

meat was smoked, pickled, salted,
d. Fish were dried on racks in the w
e were some
re all valuable trade goods.

ys, seals and possibly walrus
hunters' game. Winter was t
Winter
Winter m e s quickly in the Orkneys.
There is much to be done before the weather
closes in, so Ivar and his men help where they
can. Except for a little bit of hunting and fish-
ing on good days, there is nothing to do when
the icy cold and snow finally settle over the
islands. The men pass the days fixing tools
and ship fittings, making wood carvings, tan-
ning hides, and playing games. Everyone,

work his land. Even a small property, it was

felt, should have at least three thralls.
Thralls did much of the heavy farm work.
The men spaded fields, herded cattle, watched
sheep, tended pigs, spread manure, dug peat,
built walls, and harvested crops. Women
was very scarce.
churned butter, milked cows, ground wheat,
During cold winter nights, everyo
and cooked meals.
lived in the same house, almost the
Thralls were not without some rights,
room. In this way they conserved
though these were few. Thralls' lives were
and fuel. Beds were made of thick
counted as no more than those of cattle, ac-
cording to law. If they were killed, the master
could not pursue a blood feud nor demand a
repayment equal to that of a freeman. Thralls
could not inherit or leave property to their
children.
Still, the thrall was not without some pro-
tection. In some places, a man who killed an-
other's thrall was subject to banishment for a
period of years. If he was wounded, the thrall
was entitled to a third of the compensation
paid his master. (As lands became more Chris-
tian, it became a crime to sell a Christian
thrall.) In general, thralls were allowed to
own a little property and livestock and even
engage in business. Thralls were generally
well-treated, although their lives were not
easy.
Thrallry was not inescapable. The law al-
Social Rankings lowed several ways for a thrall to gain his
Like nearly all medieval cultures, the Vi- freedom. First and foremost, he could be freed
kings were highly class-oriented. Not every- by his master, usually for loyal service or
m e was born equal; some individuals were some particular deed. The master, in the pres-
ilearly superior to others. Viking society gen- ence of witnesses, could free a thrall, perhaps
with a small legal ceremony. Another person
?rally nobleman,
man divides into
andfour classes:
king. slave,had
Each class free-
a could by a thrall's freedom, paying the master
different set of rights and responsibilities. an agreed price. Finally, a thrall could buy his
freedom. With the money he earned, the thrall
Thrall organized a feast with meats and beer for his

had bought his freedom) or received only half es. f the freeman became unhappy, he could
the compensation from an y lawsuit. These re- switch his allegiance to another nobleman. Of
strictions lasted only throughout the ex- course, this might anger his old ally and so it
thrall's life; his sons were treated as freemen was an action not lightly taken.
an d received all the rights of that class.
Nobles
Freeman Above the freemen were the men of author-
"We shall never submit to anyone at all, nor ity - ocal chieftains and earls. These were
eve r cleave to an y servitude, nor accept favors the men who kept huskarlar. They were the
from anyone. That favor pleases us best commanders in battles, had influence on the
which w e wi n for ourselves w ith arms and toil selection of thethe

local lawspeakers, collected
of battles." tribute, tended king's estates, and enforced
Norse re ply to an emm issary of the Franks the king's decrees.
There were general types of nobles. The
The largest social class are the free farmers, lesser, sometimes called chieftains, were the
the karlykn or freemen. Unlike the lands of hersar (sing. hersir) or "landed men." They re-
the Franks and the Saxons, the farmers of ceived their authority (along with a grant of
Scandinavia were truly free. Their farmland land) from the king. Unlike nobles of other
was owned outright. Earls and kings had no lands, the position of hersir was not heredi-
claim on a man's land. (Elsewhere a peasant tary. The king gave the title. Once given, it
farmer's land belonged to a nobleman.) could not be taken away, but the title did not
A freeman enjoyed full protection under the necessarily pass on to the son at death. The
law, although lawsuits at this time depended king had to confirm the transfer, again by
on power and alliances. Most karlykn were making a grant of land.
farmers. Others were retainers, smiths, war- The second noble was the jarl or "earl." Sec-
riors, merchants, shipwrights, skalds, wood- ond only to the king, the jarls had a great deal
carvers, an d any number of other trades. of power and authority. Many were indepen-
All player characters begin the game as sons dent of the local kings and did as they pleased.
and daughters of b o nd i, unless the DM They kept large numbers of huskarlar, collect-
chooses otherwise. Bondi were independent ed tribute of their own, and ruled over dis-
farmers, not hired hands. These landowners tricts. It was only gradually that the jarls
ha d among the highest rights of all freemen. submitted to the authority of the kings.
Another important group of freemen were Iceland was unique in that it had neither
the huskarlar or house-carls. These men hersar or jarls. No noblemen settled on this is-
served as retainers to a nobleman, forming his land and the freemen who came there did not
hird or household. These men served as his want them. Instead the Icelanders chose 36 go-
bodyguard an d the core of any arm y the noble di (which roughly means "priest") to act as
might need to raise. Player characters may as- chieftains. These men had both religious and
pire to become part of a nobleman's hird or secular duties but mostly the latter.
gain one for themselves. The number of hersar, jarls, and godi was
Although a bondi or other freeman was not never large. In all of Norway there were per-
tied to a particular nobleman, he usually al- haps no more than 100 hersar and about 16
lied himself to a local earl or king. The noble earls (at their largest numbers). Sweden had
assisted in lawsuits and protection. The free- numbers probably similar to Norway. Den-
man served in the noble's army an d paid tax- mark was hardly large enough to have equa

numbers of nobles to Norway. Iceland, with was still subject to the pleasure of his subjec
its 36 godi, was not over-populated with no- The king was their leader in war. He was t
bles. The smaller islands of Orkney had at grand judge for disputes that could not be s
most only a few hersar and an earl. The Fa- tled any other way. He collected tribute fro
roes an d Shetlands had even fewer nobles. neighbors.
Player characters who aspire to the ranks of Player characters can never hope to becom
hersar and jarls will not find abundant oppor- kings (unless something truly extraordina
tunities. The player character will have to be occurs in the campaign). However, they c
extraordinary in deed and character to attain fill many roles in either the service or defian
entrance into these ranks. of a king.
Kings The Warrior’s Way

The h&est levels of Viking society were the The warrior was a central part of the Viki
kings or konungr. The title of king was both culture. One of the ways a man earned respe
hereditary and democratic at the same time. was through his sword. Combat was not t
Kingship descended from father to son (or ille- only way, but it was perhaps the easiest. It d
gitimate son or even brother), but the freemen not require special study, inborn talents,
voted for their choice of king. Thus, if there even a heavy investment for equipment. An
were three sons and a brother of the late king, one with a club could become a brave warrio
all were candidates to become the new king. Most, though, preferred a stout shield and
Since the freemen had the final say, the choos- good sword.
ing of a king was always a highly charged and A warrior could follow his occupation in
political affair. As
to the strongest,
in
mostmost things,orthe
cunning, titlepopu-
most went variety of different ways: as a farmer(l), a d
elist, a huscarl, or a society-member.
lar. The system also encouraged a king’s sons In a sense, every farmer was a warrior, T
to battle or murder each other. After all, if the home had to be defended in times of troub
other contenders were eliminated, the choice of so every farmer was a part-time fighte
king was greatly simplified. Farmers, however, did not have much wc
The idea of one king to all of Scandinavia sion to practice their fighting skills, so th
was foreign to the Vikings. Much of the region were far from being highly-trained killing m
was divided between kings, earls, and chief- chines.
tains, all of whom ruled over separate dis- A talented, if unethical, warrior cou
tricts. In Norway, things changed around 890 make his living as a duelist as described ear
when Harald Finehair established himself as er). This, however, was not a way to ga
King of Norway. Thereafter, the Norse recog- friends or to ensure a long life.
nized a sole king over all the other nobles. Third, a fighter could seek to become a hu
Sweden had its own king during this time, and Carl. This would ensure that he was fed a
the process of unifying Denmark had already housed. However, at that point the figh
been completed. For the centuries that passed, was no longer his own man. Now he was su
however, these kings and various pretenders ject to the edicts and commands of his lord
and earls contended with each other, keeping A final choice was to become a member o
warfare and intrigue alive. warrior society. These quasi-military grou
The king’s most important function was to organized warriors under a strict set of law
oversee the protection and honor of his sub- Home was a military camp, normally a ca
jects. Whether elected or hereditary, the king
fully laid out set of longhouses surrounded
79/106

an earthen rampart. During the tenth centu- afford any better. Added to this was a larg
ry the Danish kings built a series of perma- round, wooden shield, usually brightly pain
nent fortresses. These fortresses were ed with a large metal boss in the center. Late i
carefully laid out camps with barracks and the Viking age, some warrior adopted th
defenses. Trellborg is the most famous of curved triangular shield. Both would count a
these fortifications. large shields.
Of the warrior societies, the most famous Those who could afford better armor wor
(and probably least accurately documented) of a byrnie. This was a long chain mail tunic tha
all these groups were the redoubtable Jomsvik- reached to abou t mid-calf or the knee. T h
i n g s of Jomsberg. Their laws were strict. No sleeves were short. The helmet was a simpl
man under 18 or over 50 could join them; every conical dome, sometimes fitted with a fac
man had to avenge his fellows like a brother; mask and nose guard. A few even had chee
they must never speak or act in fear; all loot was protectors. Helmets were often elaboratel
to be brought to the commander for division; decorated with bands of chased silver an
no woman could enter the camp nor could a brass. Wearing it, a warrior would look quit
man be gone for more than three nights; and no fierce.
man was to create trouble among his fellows. Scale mail was the rarest of all. Only a few
No one could join their society unless a member well-traveled warriors had this fine armor.
spoke up for the applicant. was not made in any land close to the Viking
Supposedly the Jomsvikings were merce- but came from distant Miklagard (Constant
naries, feared throughout Scandinavia. They nople). Only truly wealthy warriors or forme
fought bravely in many battles, but finally members of the Varangian Guard, the Byzan
picked thechance
given the losing to
side. Captured,
betray theybut
their code, were
in tine Emperor’s
warriors, mightelite troophave
possibly of Rus
suchand Vikin
a fine su
truly heroic Viking fashion (at least in the sa- of armor.
gad) refused to a man. As a consequence
many of them were executed, and (according Viking Women
to the sagas) they faced their deaths bravely.
While it is unlikely that anything quite like The da c e of women in virtual
.he Jomsvikings ever existed, warrior societies pean medieval society was not a desirabl
are useful for a fantasy campaign. Player one. Their world was male-dominated. This i
iharacters could form the nucleus of a society, an inescapable fact. In the Viking world, how
gradually expanding as they gained henchmen ever, they had many more rights than else
and followers. Perhaps, in time, they could where.
come to rival the glory of the Jomsvikings. Among

control of aproperty.
woman’s A important rights
woman could wa
inheri
The tools of the warrior’s trade were his
weapons. The Vikings favored a small selec- lands either from her father or husband, if n
tion: broadsword, spear, battleaxe, halberd, male heirs survived. She kept her own nam
shortbow, and darts. They also used a weap- and never broke ties to her family. She migh
on called a s e a x , a cross between an axe and a even side with her family against her own hus
heavy-bladed knife. Skill with the spear was band. A woman could not take part in a law
greatly prized, and it is said there were men suit, although a man could represent her caus
who could throw two spears at once, one with at the assembly.
each handf Many sagas and historians note the out
For protection, leather or padded armor spoken and independent behavior of Vikin
was most common. Many warriors could not
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book women. It appears they had little hesitatio
81/106

Stong Farmhouse &eland
aking their minas or interfering in Deep-Minded was queen of Ireland after h

politics and blood-feuds. Indeed, this gave husband died and it was under her guidan
rise to the proverb, "Cold are the counsels of that the entire household left f or Iceland. Fo
women," as a way of warning. time there was a band of Irish Vikings led by
As time went on and Christianity spread leader only known as "the red girl." Be
through the north, the role of women deterio- known of all were the mythical valkyries, t
rated. Their independence gradually de- "choosers of the slain." The valkyries, less
creased and they became more subservient to gods, were warrior maidens who plucked h
their husbands. roes from the battlefield and carried them
Female Adventurers Valhalla,ofOdin's

legends hall in Asgard.
warrior-queens, There
both are al
in Engla
and Scandinavia.
To most minds of the age, a woman's work Female warrior characters are going
was as nursemaid, weaver, embroiderer, and cause tw o reactions in male NPC s. The first
cook - .e., to see to the household. Maidens surprise and scorn. The NPC wil l have a ha
learned the necessary skills they would need time accepting the female character, since
after marriage. A wif e m&t manage the farm woman's place is at home. It is not that she
while her husband was gone raiding, but this not necessarily capable, but that she is n
wa s uncommon. Of te n a brother or son supposed to be sailing on raids or battlin
wou ld see to this task. monsters. Certainly this attitude will ma
How ever, w omen in positions of pow er and
things more difficult f or the f e
82/106

liellehrg-style Barracks
A
play er character's advantage. N PC s will alsr were usually along the coast, since most of tne
vie w female warriors with a certain amount 0 : peop le were both Vikings and fishermen.
superstitious awe. The only warrior wom en The center of the farm was the house. In
most NP Cs are likely to know of are the Val Scandinavia proper it was made of wood and
kyries. These maidens are the agents of Odin, usually roofed with shlngles or thatch. In lands
leader of the gods. A certain amount of infer- where woo d was scarce, such as Iceland, houses
ence is therefore bound to happen. were built from sod along the same lines.
Female characters are not limited to war- Th e typical wealthy man's longhouse was
riors, of course, and other roles are less unu- about 30 yards long and 8 yards wide. Run-
sual. The sagas make mention of several ning the length of the inside walls w ere raised
wizardesses, some favorably. While awe-in- platforms. These were used for seating and
spiring simply for their abilities, a wizardess sleeping. During the day, tables could be set
wo uld still be a rare occurrence. Th e same ap up on trestles. Chairs and chests were also
plies to the other classes. used a s seats. Besides the chests there was little
other storage space. Weapons, tools, and sup-
Houses and Farms plies wou ld be hung on the walls, posts, and
rafters. The central floor was dirt, strewn with
straw or sweet-smelling grasses. A fire pit
filled the center of the hall, prov iding w armth
and light. W oo d o r peat was used fo r the fire
and was kept stacked nearby. Coo king was of-
ten done in a side room.

f privacy was needed, sections of the hall raw. Fish, of which there was plenty, was
o d d be closed off with simple curtains. Usu- cooked in much the same way. It could be fla-
ally the master and mistress had a large bed at vored with mustard, juniper, cumin, horse-
one end of the hall. In some houses, this bed radish, or other simple seasonings. Exotic
was actually transformed into a closet with spices such as pepper were very rare.
doors that could be closed and shut from the Milk was churned into butter and pressed
inside. Other blankets and pillows were into cheese. Curds and whey were common.
packed away during the day and the space Milk was a common drink.
used for other purposes. Breads were flat, unleavened, and made of
A poor man's o r a thrall's hut was much barley, rye, or peas. The poor ate bread made
smaller and meaner. Generally made of wood from the husks of these grains. Breads would
or turf with a thatched roof, it was about 3 to probably include

the grinding stonea along
fair amount of grit
with other from
strange
5 yards long and rectangular in shape. The
furnishings were few, if any, and the space substances, like pine bark and ashes.
was very cramped. Vegetables were not common. Peas and
Other buildings to complete the farm in- beans were grown in gardens, along with kale.
clude barns, workshops, thrall huts, boat Other greens were gathered from the wild.
houses, saunas, fish-drying sheds, and grain Fruits were picked from the wild. These in-
stores. Most of these are simple buildings. The cluded berries, apples, and other orchard
grain store, however, would be built on stilts fruit.
with a ladder to the door. This was necessary The main drink was either mead, an alco-
to keep vermin (including bears) out. holic brew made from honey, or beer. Wine
In addition to the main farm, there was an- was a great rarity. Whatever they had, the Vi-
other, isolated building in the high meadows, kings seemed to be able to drink immense
the seder. During the summer the livestock amounts from wooden cups or drinking
were kept at these meadows to graze on the horns.
mountain grasses. Usually a bondmaid o r ser-
vant lived in the seder and tended the herd. Trade
These lonely cabins were prime targets of ban-
Raiding and warfare were not the sole occu-
lits and huldafolk, so regular visits were
pations of the Vikings. Indeed as time passed,
nade to ensure that all was well.
prime raiding targets became places for settle-
ment and trade. In the early part of the Viking
Food and Drink age, Vikings relentlessly struck at the English,
Since the Vikings were farmers, they grew, French, and German coasts. Gradually these
fished,
times oforhardship, onlyofwine
caught most theirand
food. Except
spices in
were raids
tled inbecame less frequent
these regions as the Vikings
and discovered set-
the more
imported. Meat, fish, dairy products, bread, profitable advantages of trade.
and vegetables were the daily fare. Trade was vital for the Vikings because
Meat was lamb, beef, pork, goose, venison, their own homeland was poor in many neces-
rabbit, and whatever else could be brought sary goods and skills. Trade was conducted
down in the hunt. Meats were boiled in caul- for both useful and luxury goods.
irons, roasted on spits, surrounded with hot Fortunately, although poor in some things
;tones and covered with dirt, or broiled by the Scandinavians had many desirable re-
hot stones in wood-lined pits. Meat could also sources to trade. These included thralls, iron,
be eaten dried. salted, uickled, smoked or horn, furs, walrus ivory, honey, ropes, fish,

and timber. What they wanted in exchange had Celts, Gaels, Saxons, Franks, and Wend
re silver, glassware, swords, woolens, salt, as thralls. They also did not neglect their ow
~c es , ilk, and wine. people. Danes took Norwegians as thralls
Trading goods were normally carried by Norwegians to ok Danes. As a general rule, th
hip t o market towns such as Hedeby. Th is sea people one didn't take as thralls we re people o
ade only encouraged piracy, which was al- the same district or region. Raiding nearby dis
wa ys a hazard. Storms and misfortunes at sea tricts resulted in bloo d feuds and lawsuits an
added to the cost of shipping goods. On ce at generally did not make for good ne*bors.
market, the goo ds were usually sold to a mid- Not everyone captured in raids was taken bac
dleman who in turn sold the goods to mer- to tend the farm. The Vikings sold more o
chants from the rest of Europe. their thralls than they actually kept. The majo
Th e Vikings, perhaps not content to rely on market towns of Hedeby and Birka had thral
these trading towns, developed new trade markets where the Vikings brought their good
routes in the wake o f their raids. Some sailed to sell to Western and Arab merchants. Thrall
with goo ds up the Rhine, but the greatest ad- sold by the V i ere taken south to th
venture was in Russia. Several major trade Moslem lands on the Mediterranean.
'outes crossed the wh ole of Russia from the As the western nations became Christian
Baltic to the Black Sea. On e inv olve d sailing ized, the source of thralls shifted east. Thes
down the Dvina River, hauling goods and countries refused to sell Christian thralls t
boats overland to the Dnieper River, and sail- the Arabs, but had no similar qualms abou
ing to Gnezdovo or Kiev. The adventurous pagans. Slavs from Gardariki (Russia) and
could from there continue their voya ge for six other pagans from the Baltic were n ow the tar
weeks all the way to the Black Sea and fabled gets i f Giking raids. Christian thralls w
Miklagard, as Constantinople was called. A kept t o w ork the Norse farms.
second river route started at the end of the
Gulf of Finland, sailed up the Neva to Lake Law
Ladoga, then down the Volchov to Novgorod.
From here a Viking could continue down the For all their warlike behavior, the Viking
Lovat , and once again drag his ships overland were a very legal-minded people. Although
t o the Dnieper. The third great route began they had a king and nobles, the people
like the second in the Gulf of Finland. From founded semi-democratic assemblies virtu-
there the intrepid Viking could either choose ally ev eryw here they went. These assemblie
to go to Novgorod or Lake Onega. Once existed to hear and settle disputes between
again, an overlan d portage was required, this men and to pass laws concerning the gover n
time to reach the great Volga. This m ighty riv- ing of the district.
er carried the Vikings all the wa y to the Caspi- An assembly was known as a thing. The
an Sea. Here they met with Ara b traders from thing was an assembly o f freemen. Jealous o
Baghdad and caravans traveling the 5,000 their rights, the people enforced special law
mile Silk Road fro m China. restricting hersar and jarls fro m these assem
These were not rare voyages. The Vikings blies. The things existed to hear lawsuits
plied these rivers enough to found towns and brought by one man against another. After lis
states. Indeed Rus and Viking fleets threat- tening t o arguments and witnesses from both
ened Constantinople and raided ports o n the sides, the assembly made a judgement on the
Caspian Sea case.
Thralls were normallv taken in raids. Thus. O f course, the wh ole procedure and func
tioning, of things was much more comulicated

than this. Although the thing existed to settle ant and plaintiff. If either side refused the
matters in a given region, a difficult case could settlement, he was considered an outlaw.
be sent to a different thing for settlement Unlike modem courts, the thing seldom
(much like a change in jurisdiction in the tried to punish the guilty. No r were there any
courts today). Special things existed to settle prisons to send the criminal away to . Instead
differences between men of different districts. the assembly's goal was to reach a settlemen
Th e things were held at a permanent assem- between the two parties, ensuring peace in th
bl y place. This was sacred ground. When the neighborhood. Settlements usually require
thing was in session, drawing weapons was payment f or damages and fines on the person
forbidden. The thing met at certain times of voted to be in the wrong. Indeed, many cour
the year, often in conjunction with festivals. cases were brought in the hope of winning a
Me n of the district would travel to the thing judgement and increasing one's ow n wealth
and set up tents at specific places, often hand- A thing might best be compared to a politi
ed down from father to son. A thing would cal convention of today, rather than a court
last several days, during which cases would be room. The object was to get the freemen of th
presented and judged upon. It would also, assembly, or the judges, to vote for your sid
quite naturally, be a time for meeting old (rather like getting delegates to vote fo r you
friends and feasting. Of course, it was also a candidate). This involved a lot of persuading
time to meet old and new enemies, hence the negotiating, and private conversations amon
restrictions on w eapons and fighting. the tents of the freemen. Like a political con
The leader of the thi ng was the lawspeaker. test, a more popular and powerful man ha
He was responsible for seeing that the rules and greater influence on the outcome. (Remem be
procedures
ence at the were
thing.followed, and hadwas
The lawspeaker great influ-
chosen that reachinga
issue.) Settlement,
Friendships notmade
were often justice,
or was th
broke
by the freemen in attendance. The position at the thing.
went to people of importance and standing. In cases of killing, peace could be made (a
All manner of cases could be heard at a least on the surface) by reaching a settlemen
thing. A n y dispute between t wo p eople was and paying a weregild, a "man-price." Th
likely to be presented. These included argu- amounts paid were set by tradition and law
ments ov er prop erty lines, divisions of inheri- and varied according to the relationship of th
tance, killings, thefts, insults, and divorce slain person to the complainant. Of course
settlements. A woman could not bring a case men of power and influence could deman
to the thing, although any man - usband, (and often get) more than the customar
brother, son, or father - ould represent her amounts.
in the issue. It was
fore not necessary
the thing. to bring
A settlement evebe
co uld ry case be
reache
Cases were settled by the vote of the thing.
In theory, both sides presented their argu- outside the assembly at any time. For exam
ments and witnesses. The freem en of the thing ple, Thorolf has accidentally killed Bjorn's
then deliberated fo r a day or tw o and finally youngest son. Rather than wait for the nex
reached a decision. Howeve r, since it was of- thing, letting the bad blood between them
ten impractical for the entire assembly to grow, Thorolf wants to make peace quickly
work out an agreement, cases were usually as- Therefore, he asks Snoni, his friend, to ap
signed to three judges chosen b y the assembly proach Bjorn about a settlement. After som
and approved by those involved. These negotiation on both sides an agreement i
judges would decide the terms of the settle- reached. Thorolf pays the settlement and th
ment and present their decision to the defend-
http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book issue is dropped. 86/106

Again, the choice of negotiator was a care-

ful and political thing. Ideally the person cho- The Many Names of Odin
sen should favor your side and be powerful
enough to persuade the other to accept the With the variety of people and practlces,
terms. It helps if the mediator is on friendly nothing about religion was straight-
terms with the other party, too. Of course, forward or clear cut. The following list
this is not always possible. If the injured party shows just how varied even the names of
was a very powerful man, a wise decision the gods could b
would be to let him fix his own terms. This
show of generosity and humility could go a Allfod - All-Father
long way toward soothing feelings. Baleyg - Flame-eyed One
Biflindi - Spear Shaker
If the injured party did not accept the terms Bileyg - One-Eyed
of a settlement, then a blood-feud could re-
Bolverk - Worker of Evil
sult. At that point it was war between the two
-
Farmagud God of Cargoe
families. It was not necessary to kill the guilty
person to gain revenge. Any member of his
-
Farmatyr God of Cargoes
Fjolnir - Much-Knowing
family was generally sufficient (although Fjolsvid - Very Wise One
women were seldom targets of such feuds). Grani - Horsehair
This killing would naturally lead t o a counter- Grim - Masked One
attack and it would continue back and forth Grimnir - Masked One
until either everyone on one side was dead or Hangagud - God of the Hanged
a settlement was finally reached. -
Haptagud God of the Gods
f a man refused to honor the terms of a Har - High One
judgement reached by the thing, or if he had Harbard - Greybearded One
committed too terrible a crime to be settled, Helblindi - One Who Blinds with Death
i.e., treason or kin-slaying, he was outlawed, Herjan - Raider
banished either for three years or life. The Herteit - Glad of War
outlaw was allowed a reasonable amount of -
Hjalmberi Helmeted One
time to leave the land, usually long enough to Hnikar - Spear Thruster
return home and outfit a ship, although this Hnikud - Spear Thruster
could be extended if the sailing season was Jalk - Gelding
bad. After this period, the criminal was never Jafhnar -Just as High
to return (unless the sentence was only for Omi - One Whose Speech Resounds
Oski - Fulfiller of Desire
three years). If discovered in the country, he
Sanngetal - One Who Guesses Correctly
could be killed without fear of a blood-feud or
weregild. Of course, friends could be expected Sidhott
Sidskegg- -Deep-Hooded
Long-Bearded One
One
to shelter an outlaw, even though this in turn
Sigfod - Father of Battle
would bring the law down on the friend. Svipall - Changeable One
Thekk - Pleasant One
Religion Thridi - Third
Thund - Thin One
"Thorolf threw overboard the high-seat pil-
Vak - Alert One
lars . and declared that he would settle at Veratyr - God of Men
an y place in Iceland wh ere Tho r chose to send Vidrir - Ruler of Weather
the aillars ashore." Ypg - Terrible One

Nordic religion and its practices is a particu- these sites and other times at a farmhous
larly mysterious subject. T h e Vikings left little which also doubled as a local temple.
in the way of chronicles of their religious rites There were generally three main ceremonie
an d with the rise of Christianity the old ways each year: one in the spring, one at mid-sum
were suppressed. At the same time, later poets mer, and one in the fall. These ceremoni
left behind rich descriptions of the adventures were marked by sacrifices of animals (an
and foibles of the gods. The result is an inter- sometimes humans) and ritual feasting. A
esting paradox - more is known about the were intended to ensure fertility for the farm
Nordic gods th an how these gods were actu- Sometimes the summer festival included pray
ally worshipped. ers for victory in war and raiding. Oracle
The Norse gods, always popular in AD&W were consulted and offerings to the gods we
campaigns, are not described here. Complete made. Each festival lasted several days.
details on these powers can be found in the At home, each family usually had a sma
AD&D 2nd Edition Legends and Lore rule- number of wooden statues or rune-carve
book. DMs who want to have the gods take posts, the high-seat pillars, that represente
an active and involved role in the campaign the gods. Prayers and offerings were left fo
world should look to this rulebook for infor- these whenever the need arose. There is no e
mation. idence that there were formal rites for these
Few men worshipped a single god only. Finally, of course, the wise man took care
There is an occasional note that a warrior was see that his neghbo rs - is invisible ones -
a man of Thor, but common-sense people were placated. This included leaving sma
worshipped a variety of gods depending on bowls of food for the nisse and avoidin
the need and situation. AD&D game players things that might offend the huldafolk an
should use the areas of control listed in the other spirits. Since in a fantasy campaig
Legends and Lore rulebook to determine these creatures are real, player characte
which would be most appropriate. must devise their own methods for dealin
There were few proper temples to the gods with otherworldly neighbors.
in Scandinavia. However, there were many Judgingfrom the sagas, not all Vikings we
sacred sites out-of-doors. These included a fiercely devout group. Many saga hero
mountains, islands, fields, rocks, and groves. loudly proclaimed they ha d no need for go
Ceremonies would sometimes be conducted at and then set out to prove their point. E
Skallagrimsson, mourning the loss of his so
blamed Odin for his grief and wished he cou
take vengeance on the sea gods. Worship w
something like a bargain. In exchange for d
votions, the gods were supposed to give som
thing in return. If they did not, the pact w
broken.
This does not mean, however, that Vikin
were atheists. They had a rich web of supers
tion and belief. It is just that, unlike man
other religions, the Norsemen did not crea
religious institutions like the Church or th
temples of Rome. In general each man was r
sponsible for his o w n faith in the gods.

8
In the Viking setting, as in any other realms were created. First of these was
4 D P game milieu, the player characters Niflheim, a realm of co ld and darkness. Nin e
Ire going to travel t o strange lands and distant worlds were supposed to fo rm Niflheim , and
settings. T his chapter provides a brief descrip- it was here many of the dead were sent. Sec-
tion of the many lands, both real and imagi- ond came Muspellheim, a land of heat and
nary, that make up the world of a Viking fire. This is the home of the giant Surt (or Sur-
campaign. The places described in this chap- tur) w ho will destroy M idgard at Ragnarok.
ter can be found on the players' map (the large A t the boundary of the tw o worlds, where
map sheet bound in the back of this bo ok ) o r heat met ice, was a warm river. From this was
on the detailed maps included in this book . born the giant Ymir o r Aurgelmir. From other
Astute players will notice the fold-up map is ice were born other giants and from one of
not an accurate representation of the world. It these giants was born Odm, eader of the Ae-
is not meant to be. Instead, it is a map of the sir. Odin and his brothers slew Ym
wo rld as the Vikings might have envisioned it, from the giant's bo dy made the wor ld.
had they made maps. Scandinavia and its
coastlines, areas best known t o the Vikings, ". rom his bloo d the sea and la kes, from his
are almost correct. A s one m oves farther from flesh the earth, from his bones the mountain;
this center, the map becomes less and less ac- rocks and pebbles they made from his teeth
curate, reflecting the increasing lack of first- and jaws and those bones that were broken."
hand knowledge the Vikings had of these The Prose Edda
distant lands. Ultimately, those countries at
the outermost edges are lands of fantasy and Ymir's skull became the sky, supported by
vonder, home to giants and other mythical four dwarves, one for each direction. The
sparks blow ing up from M uspellheim became
-out map is based in part on a map the sun and stars. With Ymir's eyebrow s, the
" in 1965. This map was presented gods built a wall to the keep the giants out of
s a cop y made around 1440 of an older map, Midg ard and the giant's brains became the
n ow lost. Th e map was unique, showing Ice- clouds. Thus was the earth created.
land, Greenland, and parts of Vinland, some-
thing never before seen on a medieval map. The World According to Rolf
e discovery was quickly dubbed the
nland Map" and a great deal of scholarship In a com er of the player's map is an inset
was spent arguing fo r its authenticity. Unfor- showing a map of the entire world-at least
tunately, tests showed the map w as a forgery the way the Vikings understood it. This map
made n o earlier than 1917. Still, the map con- is the "scientific" vi ew of the world , as op-
tains many features thought to have existed posed to the

globe. All the mythical
same it hasunderstanding
many mythical of ele-
the
during the Viking age and is perfectly suitable
fo r play. ments and can be seen as one map of Midga rd,
the Middle Wo rld of men.
Th e wo rld is seen as a fla t disk, surrounded
The Making of the World
by the great wo rld ocean, Uthaf. Beyond the
There are several Viking legends that ex- edge of this ocean lived the Midzardsormr. the
ulain the existence of the world. but the most MLdgard Serpent, a beast so large it could en-
popular tells of the life Ad deaih 9f the giant circle the world. Beyond that no one knew
Ymir. Before the creation of the Earth (known what lay, although legends said Muspellhei

At the center of the world is Jerusalem, re- Denmark was a low-lying flat land of bogs,
flecting Christian belief. The continents were heaths, and sand dunes, although parts were
divided into three-Europe (the smallest), Af- covered with forests of beech and oak. Every-
rica, and Asia (the largest). Greenland was where was close to the coast, causing one
thought to connect in the far north to Europe, chronicler to note the Danes ”live in the sea.”
while Vinland did the same with Africa. The At the base of the peninsula is Hedeby, one
river Tanais was the Don and divided Europe of the most important trading centers in Scan-
from Asia. dinavia. Here Franks and Germans met to buy
the goods of Norsemen. The town was protect-
The Lands of the Vikings ed by an earthen rampart. Not far from it was
the Danevirke, an earthen fortification that
Africa: Of the entire continent of Africa, the separates Denmark from its southem neigh-
Vikings had knowledge of only the smallest bors. Other towns include Viborg, Ribe (an
portion-the Mediterranean coast of North other trading center), Schleswig, Arhus, and
Africa. With its warm temperature and bright Jelling (where the king resided). From the be-
sun. the few exulorers who traveled so far of- ginning of the V i k i i age, Denmark was under
ten believed th iy were nearing the fabled land the rule of a single king. Late in the Viking age
these kings built several fortresses at Aggers
gh never visited, the Vikings borg, Trellborg, Fykat, and other places.
it h the lands of Ara bia England: England was known to the Vi-
ourrh their contact with Arab merchants. kings well before the start of the Viking Age
Viking fleets sailed on the Caspian and traded At the beginning of the Age, England was un-
with merchants from Baghdad. The main der the rule of a number of petty Saxon kings
trading centers in this region were Itil (at the and nobles and the land was divided into a
mouth of the Volga) and Gurgan (at the south- number of different kingdoms; Mercia, Eas
em end of the Caspian). Here Vikings sold Anglia, Northumbria, and Wessex were the
furs and slaves for silk, spices, and silver from most prominent. Gradually the lords of Wes
Arabia, India, and China. sex (in the south) brought the other kingdoms
Byzantium: The great empire of Byzantium under its control, though not without warfare
was known to the Vikings. Their own name and struggle.
fo r the capital Constantinople was Miklagard England was the target of both raids and
(“the Great City”). More than once, Viking conquest. Rich monasteries at Jarrow, Lindis
ships sailed and raided on the Black Sea only fame, and Whitby were choice targets of
to be defeated by either bad luck or the myste- raids, along with a number of cities. More im
rious Greek fire. Eventually trade treaties portant, however, was conquest. The Dane
were formed between the Rus of Kiev and the law came to be the name for those lands
Byzantines. From about 980 on, Viking mer- controlled by Viking kings or adventurers
cenaries formed the elite bodyguard of the The exact boundaries varied with the fortune
Byzantine emperor, the Varangian Guard. of war, but usually included Northumbria and
Denmark This small land is one of the three East Anglia. In the Danelaw, Viking settler
countries that make up Scandinavia. During established their own laws and traditions
the Viking age, Denmark included the south- Outside of it, English kings exercised thei
eastern coast of Sweden-Halland, Skane, rule. York, in Northumbria, was the center of
and Blekinge. Sometimes Danish rule extend-
ed to the Vik, now Oslofjord in Norway. TO
the south of Denmark were the Wends.


The Faeroes: These islands are steep, tree- peace. This and became Normandy. Ironical
less hills rising from the ocean. Known from ly, it was the Normans who would bring
the beginning of the Viking age, the Faroes about the end of the Viking age.
were first home to Irish monks who lived on Gardariki: Meaning "land of fortified
these bleak islands. The Norsemen colonized towns," Gardariki was the Viking name fo
these islands during the early 80 , driving the modern Russia and surrounding lands. Al
hermits away. Buildings were made of turf though most of the population w as Slavic
an d field stone. Crops grew poorly, but sheep Swedish princes established themselves i
an d cattle were raised. T h e hardy settlers also Holmgadr Novgorod), Aldeigjuborg (Staraj
relied on fishing, game birds, and whaling. Ladoga), Gnezdovo, Chemigov, and Kiev
During August, the men would drive the There they became known as the Rus. It wa
whales ashore and slaughter them for their through Kiev that trade with the Byzantine
meat an d bone. passed.
Frankland: Also known as the Empire of the Gardariki was also a land of wonder and
Franks or the Frankish Empire, Frankland mystery. Little explored, it was rumored to b
(no w modern France, the Low Countries, and filled with monsters, giants, and horrible crea
parts of Germany) was, at the start of the age tures. Undead spirits lurked in the vast wilder
the most powerful kingdom of northern Eu- ness, along with evil trolls and sorcerers.
rope. Charlemagne the Great, who led his em- Groenland: Discovered in the early 900s
pire to its pinnacle of power and learning, was Groenland (Greenland) was not settled unti
still alive. However, he died near the begin- sometime aroun d 985 when Eirik th e Red led
ning of the Viking age, and within only a an expedition there. Named Groenland fo
short time, his great empire fell into decline as its vast mead ows (it was somewhat warm e
his heirs squabbled and fought for control of then), the island did eventually su ppo rt tw
the land. main are as of settlement, th e Eastern Settle
Still, Frankland was an impressive place to ment around Brattahild, and the Western
the Vikings. For the first few decades of the Settlement at G odt hab fjord. These were th
period, Viking raiders were effectively only areas with adequate grazing land fo
stopped by a system of fortresses and watch- farm ers. With out trees, bui ldings wer
towers set up by Charlemagne. These allowed made of turf and stone. Life was hard and
the local lords to quickly strike at raiders. relied on imports from Iceland and furthe
When the system collapsed, the rich lands of east. In exchange, the Greenlanders sold
Frankland were ripe for plunder. wool, seal hides, furs, walrus ivory, an
Because of large rivers like the Loire and fierce falcons.
Seine, the Vikings were able to strike at more Groenland was also a land of fierce frost gi
than just coastal towns. Their raids went as ants and other icy terrors. At its furthes
far inland as Paris (then only a small city on reaches it was thought to give entrance to th
an island) and Orleans. The local lords, too cold, dark land of Niflheim.
busy fighting each other, could not prevent Helluland: Meaning Slabland, this region
the Vikings from plundering. Instead, they is believed to be Baffin Island today. It to o
used the same solution as the English and paid its name from the huge slabs of stone tha
the Vikings vast sums to go home. formed the land. It was little visited or ex
As with England, the Vikings began settle- plored, since apparently nothing but foxe
ment of Frankland. They became so numer- lived there. Of course, so far north, it to
ous and powerful that eventually the emperor was also home to frost giants and other evil
was forced to grant them land in exchange for cold-loving creatures.

Ireland: Ireland was well known to the Vi- seals, eider-down, and hides. They imported
ey ruled over parts of the island lumber, grain, and luxury goods. As a people,
ed many settlements there. Most they were fiercely independent; many were
of these were Dublin and Water- outlaws from Norway, having incurred the
f Viking power on the island. wrath of the king there. These men brought
Vikings invaded Ireland in the early BOOS, their families to join them in Iceland.
nquered the island. Wars be- Although it was a harsh life there, the island
gs and Irish Kings were com- was also noted for its skalds. All of what was
mon, though the kings were far from united. later written down came from the Icelanders.
Some sided with the Vikings, others against They had a great love of words.
Karelia: This eastern land is now part of
a source of slaves in modern Finland and Russia. It is a land of for-
oods. It is also a good ests, lakes, and bogs. The native Finns there
in the near-constant had their own kings, although large parts of
and between the Irish. the land were subject to Swedish kings who
Isaland, or Iceland, was settled by crossed the Baltic and settled on Karelia's
om Norway, the Shetlands, Ork- shores.
eroes, and British Isles. The first The Finns were noted for theirpowers of
oyages were around 860, when a few Irish sorcery. Many a Norse wizard learned his arts
nks were found living there in solitude. Se- from a Finnish tutor. Inland the co untry was
s colonization began in 870 and lasted for overrun with giants and trolls, some of whom
about 60 years. had their own kingdoms. Karelia was also a
good source of timber and furs.
The land is mostly meadow with only Kurland: This region lies along the southern
areas of forest. Volcanic vents and lava coast of the Baltic. Although there is a large
native population there, it has been heavily
colonized by the Swedes, since the Dvina riv-
some crops were the principal ways of life on er, an important trade route to Kiev, passes
the island. The people lived on scattered farms through the land, The trading towns of Gro-
no towns of consequence. bin and Truso were once of particular impor-
om the farms, the only other sites of tance, although these towns declined early in
ance were the things, the assembly the Viking age.
Kurland was seldom the target of raiders,
Iceland had no king or single ruler. The since there was little wealth in the land. The
rmers were independent freemen. Govern- most useful things that could be taken from it
g was conducted by the thing and the 36 go- were slaves and amber. The amber was carved
of the land. For convenience, the island was into figurines and used for jewelry. Slaves
vided into four quarters, one for each direc- from the region, since they were pagan, were
had its own assembly and, sold in the markets of Hedeby (which would
was divided into three districts. Three not accept Christians as slaves).
Markland: This is the second of three lands
discovered beyond Groenland. The name
means "forest-land and was probably the
s were noted for many goods, coast of Labrador or Newfoundland. It was
rich in timber, but the forests were filled with
hostile skraelingar ("wretches," a contemp

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ous name for the Indians there) and giants. were well-sited for the Vikings, close to Caith-
Little effort was made t o settle this land, al- ness (northern Scotland) and only a shor
though ships sometimes sailed there from vo ya ge across the north sea to No rw ay . Trav-
Groenland to gather timber. elers from Iceland, Ireland, and the Faeroes
Norway: One of the lands of Scandinavia, often wintered over at the Orkneys when
Norway is a MITOW strip of mountainous storms were too fierce to venture on the open
land. The coastline is a jagged series of fjords, sea.
waterways that cut like gashes through the The islands, like many in the north, were
steep slopes. It is along these fjord s that most relatively treeless. Houses were made of turf
of the people lived, making use of the and stone and the men liv ed b y herding, fish-
cramped farmlands. This rugged land is one ing, and raising crops of barley and other har
wing of the Viking homeland. dy grains. Trade was in thesegoods, especially
Nor w ay divides into several regions. In the malt (roasted barley) sent to Iceland.
south, around modern Oslo, is the fjord The Orkney islands were ruled by heredi-
known as the V i , ossible source of the Vi- tary earls. While supposedly subject to the
king name. The Vi kin was home to the kings Norwegian king, the earls of Orkney ruled
of Norway. Here was the best farmland in the pretty much as they pleased, since there was
country and it was a close connection to the little the Norwegian lord could do to them.
kingdoms of Denmark and Sweden. At its The earls had close, though not always friend
mouth was the town of Kaupang, an impor- ly, ties to the lords of Scotland, particularly
tant trading center. Dividing the Vikin from those of Caithness.
western Norway is a range of jagged moun- Permia: This is a cold and snowy land of
tains. Low passes reach to Trondelag, but mystery and monsters, sometimes calle d B j u r
voyages along the coast were much more m u l u n d . Reached by making the dangerou
practical. voy age around the north of N orw ay, Permia
The Norway peninsula, which stretches was a hostile land. Its kings and nobles were
down from the Vikin, is a rugged region, al- wizards, w hile giants and monsters roamed it
most inaccessible by land. Here there are forests. Still, the people there had great trea
many isolated valleys almost completely inde- sures. Large numbers of valuable furs cam
pendent of all others. Bergen, on the coast, out of Permia's dark wo ods. Greater still
was a small center of trade and the starting there was said to be a mound deep in the fores
point f or many v oy ag es west. Finally, north of where the people left offe rings to the dead-a
Bergen along the coast was the Trondelag re- handful of silver for every man who passed
gion. This was another region with sizeable away. Getting these treasures, however, was
not easy, since the Permians hated the Nors
farms
the V andi go
ndod communication.
Sweden. Passes
It was the seat led to
of many and wo uld attack them on sight. Alth ough n o
impo rtant jarls. nearly as well armed and armored, the Permi
North of Norway is Lapland. Although in- an wizards presented a great threat to any
dependent, the Lapps were required to pay raiding party.
tribute to the earls of Trondelag. The Lapps Sadand: This land lay just south of Den
we re well-known for their skill in sorcery, al- mark and was part of the Frankish empire. It
though they could seldom withstand the Vi- most important town was Bremen, a tradmg
kings in battle. center on the coast. This made it a rich targe
Orkney Islands: These islands, just off the for raiders. Kn owing this, the Saxons fort ifie
coast of Scotland, were settled early in (or the tow n with earthworks and palisades.
perhaps before) the Viking age. The islands
The Saxons were noted as merchants. The
94/106

of those traders who came land Meaning perhaps "grassland

ging glassware and other goo of vines," the Vinland explored by Lie
to sell in Denmark. ricsson and others is now believed to be
and: North of Northumbria were Newfoundland and parts of the coast furthe
and untamed people of Scotland. south. A small settlement was established on
were a mixture of many people-P the shore, but was attacked by skraelingar. I
ts, and Norse. The fiercely independe did not thrive and was eventually abandoned
kings often faced their Sa or wiped out. The stories of this land describe
arts in border battles. For these it as filled with riches, although giants a nd
s sometimes formed alliances wi hostile skraelingar abound. Ultimat
ir Norse neighbors in Northumbria, V i a n d proved too far from civilization
d, and the Orkneys. At other times t proper settlement.
ired Norse mercenaries. Although there Wendland: Located southeast of De
raids on the Scottish coast, the land w is the land of the Wends. These German
and not a very good target. Only a f ple lived just beyond the borders of the
nasteries, Iona for one, founded by Ir ish empire. Like the Saxons, the Wends traded
nks on the Hebrides, were popular raid . . with the Vikinns. Danish and Swedish settle
argets.
Sweden This is the third nation that fo
Scandinavia. Sweden roughly divides Oder, another important river route.
three parts. The southern section is m
bw-lying plains, rich with rivers, lakes,
Baltic and the lands of the east. Thus,

settlements are found in Finland and
The middle section was likewise an
forest and plains and is known as Sv
'Fhis was the center of Swedish power

fo go "straight to the source" should read a Grundir: This earldom lies between Risa-
translation of The Prose Edda. For other land and Jotunheim. Its ruler is Earl Agdi and
lands, little or no details exist. DMs can fill he makes his residence at Gnipaland. The earl
out these countries with whatever seems mos is said to be a powerful sorcerer. His retainers
appropriate. are not men but great trolls, much to be
Imaginary lands, being imaginary, have no feared.
place on any map. At best, there are vague in- Jot unh eim This is another of the celestial
dications of where these lands can be found realms, the home of the jotens, the great gi-
("east beyond Permia") but not even anything ants of folklore. It is a wild and wooded place,
as good as sailing directions exists. Player somewhere east of Asgard. The giants of this
characters reach these lands by crossing over land are hostile to the inhabitants of Asgard.
some invisible border between the real world Mirkwood: This is a vast forest that lies just
and the Other Worlds. The border may be to the south of settled lands. [t is semi-mythi-
marked by a fierce storm that blows the ship cal, since it might lie south of Midgard as a
off course or a broad swath of trackless forest. whole. It might also describe the vast forests
The Other Worlds can exist anywhere, even that covered Germany. Mirkwood separates
Jmong the farmer's lands. A sudden look to Muspellheim from the rest of the world.
the left or flicker in the moonlight may be all Mirkwood has earned its name; it is a dark
that's needed to reveal this hidden realm. place filled with serpents, trolls, and giants.
Few venture there who do not need to.
Alfheim Virtually nothing is known of this Muspellheim Muspellheim is a mythical
land, the home of the elves. It might be part of land of fire and heat to the south. It is from
Asgard,
Asgard:but is more
Asgard likely
is the close
home of to
theit.
Aesir, the here someday
will that fire giants come.
assault Theand
Asgard sons of Muspel
bring about
12 principal gods of the Vikings. It is said to be the end of the world. It is quite possible that
above or in the middle of Midgard, the world Muspellheim grew from early reports of the
of men. It is described as a plain marked by desert lands of Arabia a nd Africa.
rivers and guarded by cliffs. Twelve palatial Niflheim: This is the last of the celestial
halls, homes of the gods, exist there. In addi- realms, the land of the dead. It is described as
tion, there ar e lesser halls for their followers. being to the north of Midgard, across the
The most famous of these, Valhalla, is Odin's ocean, and underground. It is made up of nine
hall for the fallen warriors he has chosen. On different worlds. Here all dead but those cho-
the da y of the final battle, Ragnarok, these sen by Odin are sent. Niflheim is a cold and
men will fight (and lose) in the war against the dark place. Its halls have rafters coiled with
giants. venomous serpents and agonies await those
Geirrodargardar: Meaning "Geinodstown," who are sent here.
this is the capital of Risaland, or Giantland. Noatown: It is unknown where this town
The king lives here along with his retainers. lies. Although it is ruled by a king, Noatown
GlasisvelIir: Known as the Glasir Plains in is known for its fierce amazons.
English, this country is ruled by giants. It is Risaland: Located to the east of Permia ..
found somewhere east of Permia. Although it Risaland, or Giantland. This is a powerful
has its o w n lung, Glasisvellir is forced to pay kingdom ruled by giants. The capital is Geir-
tribute to the giant king of Risaland. A great rodgardar. Beyond Risaland lay Jotunheim.
river, Henna, separates the two lands. The
king of Glasisvellir is always called God-
mund, regardless of his true name.

Longship Deck Plan (&be
on actual excavations)
dlev find 92' X 15'
Oseberg find 70' x 16'
Ocean-going Knarr ( S k u d e v find) 53' x 15'
5 iI6 rio 5 r s
Coastal h a m Skudlev findj 43 X 10'

4 vlana 5 1 ~ ~ ~
Saexring 3 9 x a
For use with miniatures, enlarge these deck plans on a

photocopier. Listed beside each deck are wo lengths fo

Viking ands and settlements

spices
itiesandtowns A A
salt
.-
Silk y wheat
Silver Weapons
Wine
- - - -


The Kwwn W e b
On little shores and little seas
live people of little sense;
ne has equal wisdom
e the world is half as wide.
Sayings of the High One
.:.,.- <...A ..

8i 1
i
i



r
I 1
I


istorical Reference
NOWyou can take your campaign and player cndr-

acters into the realms of the Northmen. This is no
mere fantasy world-this sourcebook is set in the
historical world of Viking legend. Included in this
sourcebook are new character classes, new magic,
new spells, new monsters, new treasures and the nec-
essary background information on the life and times
of the Vikings. Numerous floorplans and a full-color
map of the Viking world give you a complete role-
playing package.
115 00 u 5
29 U 1.

AD&D Vikings Campaign

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.

http://slide pdf.c om/re a de r/full/a dd-vikings-c a mpa ign-sourc e book 1/106

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

by David “Zeb” Cook

Chapter 1: Introduction. ................. .2 Chapter 8: A Brief Gazetteer ....

ADVANCED DUNGEONS 6 DRAGONS, A D W FORQOTEN REALMS,

Editina: Newton Ewe11 m e r s ~ i . x n i a a l m d e m a r k m n e d b y ~ w,

Illustrhons: Ned Dameron w m TSR inc. Ali Rigms ~ m w e d . rimed in me .S.4

DMribumd the my and hobby I r a y regiond d a b u 1 M 8 . Distributedlo the

D i ~ ~ h l d m I h e b m k . g a m s a n do bbylradeinlheunlled K inpd m byTSR LUI.

SBmnd Printing: *pdi lesl

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

A Few W ro ng Thoughts Vikings wear homed helmets. Sorry, they

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

How to Get Started on these as the campaign grows.

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

A MiniXourse of Viking History

Danes raid Missionaries Da

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

by Rorik the Dane

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

Norse and Scots

After making their first bloody raids on th

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

enly started appearing along the coasts of the ...- iquerorr

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

between Rome and

the Rus (from which comes

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

HRE: Holy Roman Empire

A Pause Boru, began the long struggle to drive ou t the

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

I the King of England. Shortly thereafter Cnute

would be much more tempted to go there if it Antwerp

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

Egil's Saga; This is the story of Egil Skalla-

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3f Characters and Combat

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Explanation of Character Gifts:

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

legends an d sagas of Scandinavia. These new Table 2: Norse Followers

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

Die Roll Troop Type

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5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

unpredictable nature of berserkers. fore this time, it instantly ceases.

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

5/21/2018 Ad&d Vikings Ca mpa ign Sourc e book - slide pdf.c om

ical robed wizard was seldom seen. Organized Priests

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simply choose. Instead the godi received his ti- ' 4-