Rage Of The Norsemen
Brothers shall strive and slaughter each other;
Own sisters’ children shall sin together;
Ill days among men, many a whoredom:
An axe-age, a sword-age, shields shall be cloven;
A wind-age, a wolf-age, ere the world totters.
The world of Norse mythology is a strange world. Asgard, the home of the gods, is unlike any other heaven men have dreamed of. No radiancy of joy is in it, no assurance of bliss. It is a grave and solemn place, over which hangs the threat of an inevitable doom. The gods know that a day will come when they will be destroyed. Sometime they will meet their enemies and go down beneath them to defeat and death. Asgard will fall in ruins. The cause the forces of good are fighting to defend against the forces of evil is hopeless. Nevertheless, the gods will fight for it to the end*.
Welcome to the Ancient World of the Norse! Does the invitation conjure up ice cold images of battle-scarred, chain mail-clad Viking warriors, great axes in hand, piloting their dragon long ships over storming seas willing to die for their Aesir gods? Good. For this campaign grounds itself in old school 1st Edition Advanced Dungeons & Dragons while combining a life-long influence of classic Viking iconography, current research and history of the Norse culture, and its greatest influence, the timeless sagas and eddas, to forge a rich, textured, and action heavy world of adventure. The characters live and die step-by-step on the edge of Ragnarok. The concept of the players taking on the roles of kinsmen fosters images of party cohesion, unity and the promise of success in these days of little time. In re-imagining the Giant Series by Gary Gygax in the setting of Norse Magic, players then partake in making themselves part of the great mythic and heroic poems of the mighty northmen. But that is just the beginning…
The game is simple. Player characters find themselves the only survivors of a bloody assault upon their homeland by an army of giants from Jotunheim. Gathered together in grief and rage their powerful god and creator, Odhinn, the “all father,” charges them to pursue the giants to the bowels of Muspell if must be and avenge their fallen kinsmen or die. The ravens Hugin and Munin appear over the bloody battlefield near the mangled shore, fly over the lapping waves and out across the sea. The surviving Norsemen climb aboard the last Viking ship and follow…
May the Gods of Asgard guide your steps. May Thorr’s hammer protect you. May Freyja give you wisdom and magical power, and may Freyr grant you prosperity. Valhall awaits!
It all begins here: Session One.
Note: paragraph one quoted from Edith Hamilton’s Norse Mythology introduction.
Rage Of The Norsemen Comments
Don’t forget about Grand Con this weekend: http://www.grand-con.com/
Valerianus: thanks for the support. I see you’ve gone a similar route with Pathfinder. I’ll be keeping up to date with your work. Long live the influence of Norse Mythology.
Happy Birthday Gary Gygax! The game scheduled today is postponed due to lack of players. We will try again in August.
I love your campaign! It seems we have some similar ideas and interests :)
Free RPG day. (Fanfare in K-Zoo is participating.)
Check this out:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdee/dinosaurs-of-the-lost-valley
Check this out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdee/dinosaurs-of-the-lost-valley
Check this out: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/jeffdee/dinosaurs-of-the-lost-valley
The valfather was mistaken… Feb 23 is the day not Feb 24.
Great to have Kennay back at the table. Jan 12th was one of the best sessions we’ve had in some time. Next game: Feb 24 (see Calendar).
No luck on a game this year… but January is looking good. Fitting month for a group trapped under ice! In the meantime, I’ve created a forum to point out some of the artists whose great work has helped tell the stories.
My thoughts on the new look: it calls attention to the images over the prose (and the story is in the prose) but in this visual age I’m not certain if that is a pro or con. Weigh in your thoughts. I think the forum is a bit of an eye sore but the rest fits the page well. If the Norns are with us we will get in a game before the year is over.
Rage is currently on hiatus until November 1st when Egil69 returns and assumes the mantle of Egil Grimsson once more. In the meantime, prepare yourselves for a saga that will surpass the last one in ways you cannot imagine.
O.
We couldn’t get the game together this weekend to celebrate Gary Gygax’s birthday. Alas, many others did. Cheers for AD&D first edition – the true “dungeons & dragons!”
Anyone interested a Viking game today (Sunday July 8)?
Sunne – thank you for pointing out that typo – it should have been “women.” In my desire to post as much lore as possible I missed that and it is now corrected. If you check out my images for the Norns on the portal they are all female. In addition to young woman (virgin), mother and crone, there are those that come to each child that is born, and also a race of Norns that are Elves, and a third that are kindred of the Dwarves. As the prose edda records: “Most sundered in birth I say the Norns are; They claim no common kin: Some are of Aesir-kin, some are of Elf-kind, Some are Dvalinn’s daughters.” There is even mention of “evil” Norns. I would hold that these are all women as well. Thanks for your comment. See you in Valhall.
you stated that the norns usually appear as men. no where in any of the literature are the norns men. they are Always women. a young woman, a mother and a wise crone.
Thanks everyone for showing up and making this an interesting two years. Two years! Check out the two new blog posts – secrets reveled and what to do next. In the later thread you can discuss options: go with Slinor or return home. In secrets revealed I will share some (but not all) DM to Player info. While we go into a hopefully short hiatus I will be working on expanding the session info to include everything that happened and posting a video highlighting the best images of the campaign thus far. Don’t forget, Empire Apocalypse starts May 4th.
Wow! Rolling the dice so many times (1’s and 20’s) that we grew sick of it – ‘course 2:15AM and a pizza, beer, coffee combo isn’t the best. Great to see everyone on the edge wondering if you’d make it. One more session to go. Get that hammer! Game date will be announced shortly.
Another great session. Two more left to this saga. Hope everyone can make them both. March 3rd it is.
Cold and chilling start to the 2012 campaign – 1/2 way through the frost giant foes. Great game. No bean dip next time. See you in February.
Great sessions on the 23rd and 28th. Thanks again for the guest appearance, Jon. This may be the end for 2011. Jan 6 or 7 2012 next possible game.
Not bad for three hours. Looking to get in two more sessions before the year’s over. Friday the 23rd and 30th??
Game set – 6PM – Friday Nov. 25th. The winds of Thor will be blowing cold…
Why not follow-up a Thanksgiving feast with a Viking feast? Fri or Sat November 25 and 26 (or both). Let me know if you’re in and ready to find the hammer of Thorr.
Still in post-planning stages from September’s apocalyptic game. The winter winds of Ragnarok are near. Let’s set a date for November. Re-structuring the player pool as well.
Great work last week. Tonight makes two weeks in a row – a triumph for this campaign. Now that the characters are back in the settlement we’ll work some world building and intrigue for a while before embarking on another valiant raid.
I have always been partial to Nordic Campaigns and this one looks like it is shaping into a very fun one. Good job.!!!
Great work last night.
Only took a year to complete 2 and a half dungeon levels! I’ll be updating the page all week. Keep checking in.
Session 11 might take place Sunday July 3 or Monday July 4th or both. Keep watching. Celebrate America’s birthday Viking style.
Looks like June 3rd for starters. Still in the dungeons of Surt.
Let’s assemble the schedule for the summer. List some choices of give me a call. How does May 14th and June 11th sound?
New Schedule Update for April: 2nd canceled, 16th, 24th and 30th are open. Send a message to me to confirm.
Game canceled. Game for the 26th has been pushed to April 2nd. I know… the Gods are not pleased.
The next session is rescheduled for March 26th at 7PM.
Today’s game canceled. We will re-schedule for Saturday the 19th or 26th.
March 12th, who’s attending?
February 26th 2PM! Next session is on.
Jon just joined as “Jakniefe” – will be playing Knut (at least for on-line stuff…)
Let’s try to resolve as much as possible with the forums until next game (26th).
Another excellent session. Onward to February 12th!
Sunday – January 30th – 2PM – 6PM – next session.
First December option is Saturday the 18th. Anyone in?
Great game last night everyone. On to December!!!
Thanksgiving weekend – to the real discoverers of America! The 26 & 27th – End the Fire Giants and set us up for the cold of winter — the frost giants!
October 16th. The session is on. Even if there’s only one of you.
I’m going to visit Jon’s mom tonight and Jimmy is still on the road. I think next weekend might be best since it is Labor Day. Friday the 3rd I’m going to see Machete. Let me know if you want to go. Saturday the 4th I will be in Detroit. But Sunday the 5th and Monday the 6th, Labor Day, I’m up for two days in a row to make up for lost time. What do you guys wanna do?
I think I will probably not hold a session tomorrow (Saturday). It’s finals week so I am buried in student papers. Also Jon probably won’t be making this one either, so at least we won’t advance too much further before he joins in. I’ll know by 12pm tomorrow for sure. Let’s look to next week for now.
Posts are displayed from newest to oldest so if you haven’t read any, go to session one and read up.
Next session (number seven) is August 7th. Who can make it?
Characters updated with current loot. Shooting for next game July 30th.
Be sure to vote on the campaign, make it a favorite, load up a profile pic (for you not the character, though you could use the same one) and vote on your character. Those of you with special items (Finn, Egil) should add them to the item section of your profile.
Call me about the game time tonight.
Scott is on (see King Hick). Everyone should “friend” each other and make sure to add Rage of The Norsemen as a favorite and vote 5 stars if you haven’t. More soon.
Everyone is signed on except Scott. I’m working with him and will be posting all prior game activity under the adventure log.
lets roll bitches!
The board is under construction. Once you sign up to the campaign I will add your character and put it under your log in. Next game is July 17th!