[X] Your father is the Jarl of Agdir. Easy Difficulty.
[X] Tough. You are just tougher than most, able to take more of a hit pound for pound than the majority of people out there. Gain Advantage on Constitution.
[X] Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
Here me out - What if we played on easy mode? For some reason this seems unpopular in quests..
[X] Your father is a high chief under the Jarl of Agdir. Medium Difficulty.
[X] Stubborn. You have a raw determination that refuses to be beaten without a fight, no matter how long the odds. Gain Advantage on Will.
[X] Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
It hasn't quite been 24 hours, but it has been several hours since the last post in the thread so vote closed.
Adhoc vote count started by Oshha on Nov 14, 2023 at 1:49 PM, finished with 26 posts and 19 votes.
[X] Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
[X] Tough. You are just tougher than most, able to take more of a hit pound for pound than the majority of people out there. Gain Advantage on Constitution.
[X] Strong. You have a degree of innate strength from your father, allowing you to get more out of your muscles no matter how weak or great they are. Gain Advantage on Strength.
[X] Your father is a high chief under the Jarl of Agdir. Medium Difficulty.
[X] Stubborn. You have a raw determination that refuses to be beaten without a fight, no matter how long the odds. Gain Advantage on Will.
[X] Clever. You are quick witted, just able to grasp and see things that elude most others, no matter how intelligent they are. Gain Advantage on Intellect.
Your father is a high chief under the Jarl of Agdir. The town he directly rules over has several hundred free men and women living in it and many more living out in the countryside. There are three chiefs serving directly under him, each one ruling over a small town of only a few hundred people and the surrounding countryside.
When it comes to your father's children, you swiftly go from being the youngest to being in the middle of the pack. One amongst many, your father does spend some time with you, but between his raids, ruling his lands and just how many of you there are, what time you do have is limited and often spent alongside at least one of your siblings.
But what time you did get was something that you valued greatly.
"You see, Torvald," says your tall, broad shouldered father as he strokes his beard of red hair, "Nordvegr has very few people compared to other lands. Svitjod and Danmork both have twice as many people than us. Places like Wessex and Camelot have smaller lands, but far more people. A town over there needs to have over a thousand people before it is considered such."
"That's a lot," you say, your six year old mind attempting to remember how much a thousand is.
You think it is over a hundred. Yeah, a thousand is more than a hundred. Like two whole hundreds.
"Just wait until you hear about the other Christian lands," says Father with a hearty laugh, "Francia, Iberia, Rome and the Roman Empire, those lands are vast, plentiful and full of people. They have grand cities with tens of thousands of people living within them and plenty of loot to claim. Of course, claiming that loot is a chore that's made difficult by their many defenders, but the fight is half of a good adventure. When I sacked Constantinople, I had to rally over a dozen warbands to my cause and even then, I had to wait until the majority of their forces were away on campaign."
You can only follow half of the words, but you are enjoying yourself, just spending time with him and listening to him telling you tales of glory. Even if you don't understand all of it, Father is enjoying telling them and that means you are enjoying them.
***
1d20 = 7
"Torvald!" calls your father and you eagerly make your way over to him, where he stands with two of his huscarls and a young woman in a plain dress and a metal collar around her neck.
"This is Wulfwynn Rosegarden, a former knight errant from England," says Father as he grabs the woman roughly and shoves her forward, "She'll be your thrall, to serve you as needed."
"May the Devil take you, monster!" snaps the woman and Father just laughs before smacking her in the face.
"Hah!" exclaims Father, "Lass, you'll do better as a maid to my son than as a woman warrior. Maybe if you're lucky, you'll be allowed to make some children of your own."
Father and his huscarls just laugh while the woman looks at him with disgust. For your part, you just wonder what is going on.
"The runes on her slave collar will keep her from hurting or disobeying you, Torvald," says Father, "Don't worry about breaking her. I don't mind having to replace a thrall every now and again."
That last part is said to both you and the woman and she just glares at your father even harder. You just nod your acknowledgement to your father, resolving to not let things come to that. You don't want to be the sort of child that breaks things. Father might be willing to replace what you bring, but if you make him fed up with replacing stuff, he won't get you new stuff. And you like getting new stuff.
Unfortunately for you, it seems that Father was only here to deliver your new thrall as he soon departs with both of his huscarls, leaving Wulfwynn behind. The woman glares at you before prodding at the iron collar around her neck. Watching her, you decide that you know what you want out of her.
"Sit on the bed," you tell her, making her glare at you again before her body begins to move and she jerkily makes her way over to your bed.
Once she is sat down, you attempt to make your way onto her lap. She tries to move to a different spot on the bed until you tell her to stop.
"Now tell me a story," you demand with all the imperiousness of a six year old after you have gotten yourself suitably settled on her lap.
Wulfwynn looks murderous as she looks down at you and you think she is going to refuse for a moment. When she opens her mouth, you are expecting a rebuke when the beginning of a story comes out instead. Wulfwynn looks rather upset, but you don't care as she tells you a story, one of a man called Adam and a woman called Eve. It involves a divine garden, its godly ruler, a treacherous snake and ends with Adam and Eve being exiled for breaking their word.
You don't really get why Adam and Eve were dumb enough to be dishonourable like that, but a new story is a new story and it turns out that Wulfwynn has loads of new stories to tell you. This is going to be great!
***
1d20 = 19
You don't know what to think of the new girl. Astrid Bjornsdottir is the new daughter of your father's best thane, Bjorn Ragnarsson the Knightslayer, and despite being your age, you have only met her recently.
Father explained it to you, but he didn't really go into detail. All he told you was that Astrid used to live with her mother, but then her mother had to go on a big adventure so now Astrid lives with her father. And her father is going to make her a proper woman.
You have mixed feelings about Astrid. You think she is really cute with golden hair and blue eyes. Father says that's because she has Freyja as an ancestor like how you have Thor as an ancestor. But she is also really powerful. You can put up with the older kids being more powerful than you because they're older, but Astrid is your age. You're the son of Sigurdr the Princess-Taker! Astrid would be weaker than you, not stronger.
You should probably like her. Astrid is always friendly with you when you aren't teasing her And she has cool magic bird wings that she can use to fly. Father says she inherited them from her mother and Astrid's mother got them from meeting a Valkyrja. A shame that nobody knows that story, not even Astrid. You would like to hear it.
***
No plan voting for skills What skills do you focus on? Pick three.
[ ] Swordsmanship. Father wants to teach you how to use a sword because it is the only weapon fit for a son of his.
[ ] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[ ] Thunder Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Thunder Magic.
[ ] Storm Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Storm Magic.
[ ] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[ ] Athletics. You like to play and race with the other kids.
[ ] Stealth. You can get around without being spotted by the older kids.
[ ] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
[ ] Deception. You can get away with more if you could lie better.
[ ] Intimidation. Father says that all real warriors need to be scary.
[ ] Nature. There is a lot of dangerous stuff out there and knowing what is dangerous and what isn't is important.
[ ] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
Use plan voting for siblings.
What is your relationship with your siblings? Pick two to be friends with and one to enemies with.
[ ] Torsten Sigurdrsson
Torsten is your full-brother and the firstborn of Sigrudr Torsensson. Your father is personally grooming him to be his successor and Torsten is excelling at it. While Torsten lacks anything he is especially good at, there is also nothing he is especially bad at. He is also your father's favourite child.
[ ] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
Born to the princess that your father captured from the Kingdom of Camelot, your older sister Brunhildr is a proper young noblewoman who will make her future husband very happy. She knows exactly how to run a household and will be an expert at the game of politics.
[ ] Brandr Sigurdrsson
Your older brother Brandr is born to a Roman Princess taken from a raid on Constantinople and like you, he wishes to sail to lands overseas. Unlike you, he has the intention of peaceful trade rather than violent raiding as your brother has aspirations of a merchant empire. Given how good he is at getting a good deal, it isn't out of the realm of possibility.
[ ] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
Your father made one voyage into the Land of the Fairies, he took one of their princesses, who has given him your younger sister Sigrid. Sigrid is a craftswoman and enchantress with dreams of making legendary armaments for legendary warriors. She is also something of a prankster.
[ ] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
Your younger brother Gunnar is born to a Dane princess with a Jotun bloodline. An extraordinary large figure, Gunnar has simple aspirations in his life, merely desiring a good fight and challenging foes.
***
I'm planning to have three/four parts to the character creation. First is the birth where you pick your traits and difficulty. The second is when Torvald is six years old and you are determining his relationships with his siblings and his earliest training. The next couple of updates will be when Torvald is ten or twelve and will cover a childhood adventure or two to characterise him a bit before we reach sixteen, where you will get regular turns and such. There will also be further training so what you pick here is just what you start out with, not what you are locked into.
Also Torvald's father is both a loving father and a horrible monster.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
[ ] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[ ] Thunder Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Thunder Magic.
[ ] Storm Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Storm Magic.
[ ] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
Lightning is electricity, Thunder is shockwaves and sonic while Storm is weather, specifically storm-related stuff. Runes are basic literacy right now, but you need to know the regular runes if you do want to progress to magical runes in the future.
Okay then. We went with the mental stats so mage seems the way to go (combat mage specifically). I like lightning.
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
Swordsmanship is also super tempting, but I think we should have some social skills.
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
So, my logic here is that being friends with the crafter and the political expert is absolutely great for a warrior. Like, just really really good. And that having been said, being enemies with the straightforward warrior is the least likely to result in serious problems. Like, he might try to kill us, but we won't suddenly be unable to sell our plunder or have the heir hate us when and if he succeeds our father.
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
While I agree with most of deadman's vote, Perception is always key.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
[X] Swordsmanship. Father wants to teach you how to use a sword because it is the only weapon fit for a son of his.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
These seem good, I don't really care for becoming a magic user, especially the blasty kind. These are all basic skills that we need to get at some point.
[X] Plan: Heirs and Giants
-[X] Friends
--[X] Torsten Sigurdrsson
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
I'd like to get Gunnar to accompany us on our raids, his muscle is going to come in useful. Being friends with the heir is also just a no-brainer.
Being enemies with the political specialist seems like an awful idea. That's how you wind up dead in a ditch after your allies all realize you're the reason they always get screwed over and you're accused of treason, oathbreaking, and murder all on the same day. That's an extreme example...but not that extreme. Social engineering is scary shit.
Like, different friends is defensible, but the actual politician as an enemy is really really bad.
Being enemies with the political specialist seems like an awful idea. That's how you wind up dead in a ditch after your allies all realize you're the reason they always get screwed over and you're accused of treason, oathbreaking, and murder all on the same day. That's an extreme example...but not that extreme. Social engineering is scary shit.
Like, different friends is defensible, but the actual politician as an enemy is really really bad.
Except Torvald is ALSO clever. Quite frankly, you seem awfully keen on getting an axe to the head from Gunnar. If you're so afraid of politics, then fair enough, but Torvald isn't brain dead. Everything you're talking about is in a vacuum. Your exaggeration doesn't do you any favours here.
The whole Wulfwynn Rosegarden becoming a thrall shows off the darker aspects of Viking culture and society really well. The MC's take on the Bible will be interesting. Also as the author said Torvald's father is a loving father but a horrible person.
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
Combat related skill that is also magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
Knowledge related stuff that can get us Magic Runes eventually.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
Having no social skills would be stupid.
[X] Plan: Political and Physical Protection
-[X] Friends
--[X] Torsten Sigurdrsson
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
Okay so having Torsten as a friend means the Heir will be positively inclined to us which gives Torvald political protection.
Sigird will eventually give Torvald cool gear and is inclined to support him becoming a badass.
Gunnar is going to be a massive physical threat but that's pretty much it not a political or financial threat. Magic is a concern because Jotun Blood but between Sigird's magic helping us and Torvald's own magic we are covered there.
Except Torvald is ALSO clever. Quite frankly, you seem awfully keen on getting an axe to the head from Gunnar. If you're so afraid of politics, then fair enough, but Torvald isn't brain dead. Everything you're talking about is in a vacuum. Your exaggeration doesn't do you any favours here.
We're playing a raider, that's the pitch. A combat specialist to at least some degree. We're gonna be pretty combat oriented and expect to fight battles regularly. If we're not good in a fight we have bigger problems than Gunnar. Having an enemy that comes at us in that arena thus should play to our strengths...having one that comes at us through politics forces us to try and spread ourselves thin to defend ourselves on that front as well, dividing our attention and skill set. We probably want some social skills anyway, sure, but we're not gonna have enough to keep up wih a specialist in the area.
Also, relevantly, kinslaying is an extremely serious crime. Gunnar is unlikely to actually try and kill us directly absent serious provocation which we can probably avoid...he'll instead try to outdo us as a raider or similar things. That's a lot easier to deal with than underhanded sabotage attempts. Like, him trying to kill us could happen, but your 'axe to the head' example is probably less likely than my examples (which are indeed extreme) because Brunhildr could survive my example and Gunnar's whole life is likely ruined if he kills us personally. I was presenting the worst case scenario, sure, but it's a concern.
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
We're playing a raider, that's the pitch. A combat specialist to at least some degree. We're gonna be pretty combat oriented and expect to fight battles regularly. If we're not good in a fight we have bigger problems than Gunnar. Having an enemy that comes at us in that arena thus should play to our strengths...having one that comes at us through politics forces us to try and spread ourselves thin to defend ourselves on that front as well, dividing our attention and skill set. We probably want some social skills anyway, sure, but we're not gonna have enough to keep up wih a specialist in the area.
That's just false. Many of the skills that are useful in politics (persuasion in particular) match up with skills we'd be using in other areas. Politics is everywhere, let no else tell you otherwise. Your assumption that we wouldn't be dealing with any of that is ignorant. our strengths. Besides, who are you to dictate how we spec our character? I don't care for the magic, but I'm not here complaining about your choice, even if "wastes" such a valuable skill we could be putting elsewhere.
That's just false. Many of the skills that are useful in politics (persuasion in particular) match up with skills we'd be using in other areas. Politics is everywhere, let no else tell you otherwise. Your assumption that we wouldn't be dealing with any of that is ignorant. our strengths. Besides, who are you to dictate how we spec our character? I don't care for the magic, but I'm not here complaining about your choice, even if "wastes" such a valuable skill we could be putting elsewhere.
The pitch is literally 'be a raider', with a specific note we cannot avoid raiding. We're a raider. If we are not fairly combat capable we will thus very likely die. Politics, meanwhile, is likely to be a sideline for us, rather than a specialty (particularly since our stat specialties do not focus on social skills). Just from a 'we have other priorities' perspective.
And I'm no complaining about your skill selections either. I have made objection to exactly one thing in any of the several plans proposed: Having the political specialist as an enemy. Which seems like a bad idea to me.
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Storm Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Storm Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Plan: Heirs and Giants
I'm going with Storm, controlling the weather might just save us when we go raiding.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
[X] Swordsmanship. Father wants to teach you how to use a sword because it is the only weapon fit for a son of his.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Plan: Heirs and Giants
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
I had already noticed and would fix it, but too many people are voting for the misspelled version and correcting it would just split the vote in the tally.
[X] Lighting Magic. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Magic.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
