When a child is born, the Nornir decide the exact moment of their death. There is nothing that can bring a man down if it is not his time to die and there is nothing that will save a man if it is his fated day.
Everything between now and then, however, is up to you and you alone.
So tell me, how will you shape your future?
Credit to @DeadmanwalkingXI for assisting with the logistical side of things.
They say that when a child is born, the Nornir decide the moment of its death. On this day, in the home of Steinarr Hallsson on the coast of Agder, the Nornir make their choice and a newborn infant breathes its very first breath.
Holding the swaddled infant with a gentleness that surprises even him, Steinarr moves to pass the child to his wife. A glimmer in the child's newly opened eyes stops him cold, something reminding him of his own father. He swallows the lump in his suddenly dry throat.
While common knowledge dictates that it's best to wait to see if the child survives before giving it a name, Steinarr can't quite bring himself to leave the babe nameless, not when he knows the name to give them.
Steinarr holds his exhausted wife close as he whispers the newborn's name;
[ ] "Hallr" (Male)
[ ] "Halla" (Female)
(Halla is a harder start than Hallr is thanks to, well, being a woman in the middle ages. You'll have to work harder, be better, than the boys. You won't just have to succeed, you'll have to excel. But for all the difficulty, the rewards of the Halla start are far sweeter than the Hallr. Halla also would have an easier time learning seidr (magic) as it was seen as a womanly thing so most men would want nothing to do with it.)
As the child grows older, it becomes clear that they aren't like the other children of the village.
While there are several things that separate them from the pack, what is the most apparent?
[ ] The child has a great deal of natural strength and sense of body. They already stand head and shoulders over their peers and certainly will be of prodigious size should they live to adulthood.
-Gain Boon: Giant's Blood - +1 to starting hamr and makes it easier to raise.
[ ] The child is sharp, always quick to put two and two together. They have a mind like a sail, always catching new ideas like the wind to sailcloth.
-Gain Boon: Snake's Tongue - +1 to starting hugr and makes it easier to raise.
[ ] The child seems to know things they shouldn't. They talk about some manner of creature that shadows their footsteps.
-Gain Boon: Seeing Eyes - +? to starting fylgja and makes it easier to raise.
[ ] The child is very lucky and has a natural sort of talent when it comes to all manner of sort. It's clear that they would be very good at whatever they put their mind to.
-Gain Boon: Godly Luck - +1 to starting hamingja and makes it both easier to gain and harder to lose.
But that's not all there is to it. There's something else in play here, something that Steinarr struggles to put his finger on until, like a raven landing on his shoulder, he realizes just what it was.
(Pick 2. You can take more, but those will require flaws to compensate)
[ ] The child is far bolder than their peers. While the others stayed on the lower branches, they've already climbed to the top.
-Gain Boon: Bold - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to gain orthstirr.
[ ] The child has a talent for poetry and wordplay. Their poems are very advanced for their age.
-Gain Boon: Poet - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to both write and understand poetry.
[ ] The child shows the signs that they'll grow into a truly beautiful adult, should they reach that age.
-Gain Boon: Beautiful/Handsome - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to charm others.
[ ] The child has the spirit of a jarl. When they speak, others listen.
-Gain Boon: Leader - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to lead others.
[ ] The child is naturally friendly. Wherever they go, they make friends and, more importantly, allies.
-Gain Boon: Friendly - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to make friends.
[ ] The child has a love for violence that would give even the mightiest vikingr pause.
-Gain Boon: Bloodlust - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to do acts of violence. Requires Flaw: Bloodlust.
[ ] The child has a knack for making money.
-Gain Boon: Prosperous - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to gain money.
[ ] The child yearns for adventure, for glory. They desire to see new lands and discover new things.
-Gain Boon: Wanderlust - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to go on adventures. Requires Flaw: Wanderlust.
However, the child was not all sunshine and bloodshed. They too had their flaws, though some may not be readily apparent and some would be worse than others.
What flaws did they have, if any?
[ ] While it wouldn't matter for many years, the child is completely incapable of growing any kind of facial hair.
-Gain Flaw: Beardless - Makes it very hard to earn orthstirr if you are a man. Has no effect if you are a woman, though still qualifies as a 'flaw' for the purposes of boons.
[ ] The child simply cannot stand the sight of blood.
-Gain Flaw: Hemophobia - Makes it very hard to battle to the fullest extent as well as perform medical activities.
[ ] The child wears their heart on their sleeve and often acts without thinking.
-Gain Flaw: Low Self-Control - Makes it harder to stop yourself from doing things.
[ ] The child is, simply put, a runt compared to their peers.
-Gain Flaw: Undersized - Makes it harder to improve hamr and to battle. Not available with Boon: Giant's Blood.
[ ] The child is unlucky. They often run into bad things and nobody really wants to be around them.
-Gain Flaw: Unlucky - Bad things are more likely to happen to you and people try to distance themselves from you, for fear of your bad luck spreading to them. Not available with Boon: Godly Luck.
[ ] The child is not the brightest. They regularly make mistakes with relatively simple mental problems.
-Gain Flaw: Unintelligent - Makes it harder to improve hugr and to use magic) (Not available with Boon: Snake Tongue.
[ ] The child has a difficult time staying clean.
-Gain Flaw: Dirty - Hygiene is no longer automatic. Low levels of hygiene will make it harder to be around you.
[ ] While no fault of their own, the child is not the offspring of Asveig, Steinarr's wife, but of Randi, Steinarr's serving girl.
-Gain Flaw: Bastard - Reduces relations with Mother severely while also making it harder to improve relations with certain people, if they find out about it.
[ ] The child is an antsy thing, never willing to stay in one place for very long.
-Gain Flaw: Wanderlust - You will struggle to stay focused on tasks if your Wanderlust has not been sated. Required if taking Boon: Wanderlust.
[ ] The child is always spoiling for a good fight.
-Gain Flaw: Bloodlust - You will struggle to stay focused on tasks if your Bloodlust has not been sated. Required if taking Boon: Wanderlust.
0~0~0
AN: Welcome to NorseQuest! I hope that everything is to your liking. I've included some spoilers preemptively answering some potential questions you may have while I post the character sheet and mechanics informationals. Once I'm done with that, feel free to ask me anything and I shall answer to the best of my abilities. Some things I will not be able to answer, as you will have to find those out in-character.
The utter basics is that hamr is your body, hugr is your mind, fylgja is your spiritual animal companion, and hamingja is your natural luck and talent. I'll expand on how they play into mechanics when I post the mechanics informational.
By cultivating hamr, one can perform great feats of strength, move with the speed of the wind, sense all there is to sense, endure body-breaking pain, and even shift their form to another should they grow strong enough.
By cultivating hugr, one can sharpen their memory, calculate problems with superhuman speed, create new ideas and thoughts, and even cast all kinds of magic should they grow strong enough.
By cultivating fylgja, one can manifest them into the physical world, see the unseen, recieve tellings of the future, act through the fylgja as if it were your own body, and even strike out at enemy fylgja should one grow strong enough. (Important to note: if your fylgja dies, you die as well)
You cannot cultivate hamingja, it is something that you get at birth and changes based on your actions in life. It is how naturally lucky you are and how talented you are at whatever you try your hand at.
Orthstirr literally translates to 'word-glory'. For the purposes of this quest, orthstirr shall be the stand-in for qi. Unlike qi, however, you do not gain orthstirr through cultivation, but through the renown you gain by doing drengskapr, the work of a drengr (essentially, the model man in Norse society. A drengr is someone you want by your side in a fight, someone you'd trust with your life.)
By receiving nid (essentially, shame or dishonor either from someone else's actions or your own dishonorable actions) you stand to lose orthstirr if you do not respond with fire and steel or through the law. Any amount of nid can prove catastrophic to a Norseman's orthstirr, so deny it at all turns.
By doing odrengskapr, the work of an odrengr (similar in concept to nid, but without the supernatural aspect that lessens your orthstirr) your standing in the eye of the community worsens, making it harder to increase your orthstirr and easier for others to desire your death.
Essentially, by doing drengskapr you gain orthstirr. Orthstirr can be used to enhance your hamr, hugr, and your fylgja. Orthstirr is also the only thing remaining of you after you die, so protecting it is very important.
[Halla Sunshine]
Endurance: (19/19) | Frenzy: (8/8) (+8 to all Combat Rolls) | Armor: (8/8) (+1 to Defense Rolls)
Orthstirr: (67/67) (0/9 Progression) (+3 and 7/9 Orthstirr per year) | Odr: (49) (+36 per turn)
-Frami: 23 | Virthing: 22 | Saemd: 22
Hamingja: (34) (including 9 temporary)
Hamr: (11) | Infusion Rank: (8)
Hugr: (12) | Infusion Rank: (8)
Fylgja: (10) | Infusion Rank: (7)
Bloodlust: 0 (Will increase by 1 every season you go without fighting something. If it reaches 10 then you will *have* to fight something.)
You are Abjorn Bearbreaker's Warrior-Wife, a Berserk-by-definition, a fully-fledged Seeress, and most recently a newly-minted Hero. You are also a mother to six beautiful little children.
You are 23 years-old. You are at the Saga Expansion stage of Norse Cultivation.
Your main kenning is: Sunshine (While you are in the sun you no longer struggle to control your fear, others around you also benefit from this, and you gain +1 to all combat rolls made while under the sun)
2: Skyfire (+1 to all combat rolls made while flying)
3: Life-Bringer (+1 Endurance healed at a time)
4: Owl-Eyes (+2 dice to Tactics and Scouting rolls when using your fylgja)
5: Longstride (+1 dice to Travel rolls)
You own 240 acres of land in the Hading Valley, very close to Steinarr's Farm.
You now own the *Wavedancer*, a 22-bench snekkja.
Currency: 1,486 and 5/8 oz Silver, 136 oz Gold, (Note: This is somewhat abstracted, some of this silver is in cloth and other useful goods.)
Combat Stats: (Prowess 9) (30 xp Left)
Initiative 7
Stamina 6
Speed 7/9/10 (+5 Shapecrafting, +2 from Items, +1 from Trick)
Capacity 15
Analysis 9 (+8 Frenzy)
Offense 8 (+8 Frenzy)
Defense 8 (+8 Frenzy)
Pierce 0/1 (+1 from Items)
Resist 9/14/23 (+9 Imbibing, +5 from Items, +9 from Trick)
Your Combat Dice Pool for Basic Attacks is 9d6 + 46-48 (8 Frenzy +10 Sagaseeker +18 Father's Cindersoot Owl +10 to 12 Hamr, Hugr, or Fylgja). Basic Defenses are 9d6 + 45-47/47-49 (8 Frenzy +9 Emberguard +18 Father's Cindersoot Owl +10 to 12 Hamr, Hugr, or Fylgja, maybe +2 from Shield). Potentially 10d6 with Sharpen or Fortify.
For Tricks, add appropriate Martial Style or Hugareida as well, but they lose the +18 for Father's Cindersoot Owl (so an Ignition Trick is 9d6 + 39, 10d6 + 39 with Sharpen).
Total Tactics roll is 12d6 + 15 Successes (including Analysis), Infusion 3 granting additional insight, Mastered level gauge of enemy effort, and Refined levels of gauging the enemy's greatest strength, greatest weakness, and specifically whether they are a better wrestler than Halla. All refinement levels are considered one higher when opposing other Tricks.
You are Fluent in:
-Norse
-English
-Latin
-Slavic
You are reading these books:
-The Bible (9) COMPLETE!
-Treatise on Frisian Cultivation (5)
## Your Soulscape
A vast valley of fertile rolling hills and densely packed forests boxed in by a protective, snow-capped mountain range. The valley is dominated by a lonely mountain growing from the centermost point and topped by a farm belonging to yours truly.
Beyond the mountain range is a great expanse of emptiness just waiting to be filled. Filled with what, you're not overly sure. However, your intuition guides you to consider how familiar your soulscape is. You've lived in a valley all your life, so perhaps that has something to do with it?
Up at the top of the lonesome mountain sits a farm, your farm. Bordered by a rune-covered fence of superior quality and with a Gate of some odd material—reddish and oddly warm to the touch—your soulfarm is a well-protected place. Farmplots dot the inside of the fence and copses of trees fill the gaps. A small, hollowed-out hill sits near the back, where your odr finds a home. Atop the hill, beside the well you've constructed, sits a house of superior quality. It is a fine thing with many little accessories.
A single chicken walks around the farmsoul, looking a little hungry.
While your farmsoul is well protected by the presence of a fence, that's more then can be said for your soulscape as a whole. Already, wisps of curious spirit-matter prod at the limits of your soul, testing and examining to see what this new thing is. These entities are barely sentient let alone sapient, merely spirit-matter that's clumped together enough to have some semblance of locomotion. That won't last forever, though. One day, something with actual intelligence will have a gander at what you've built.
A Hearthroot seed has taken root in a patch of soil. It now bears 1/3 berries, which regrow every year. 4/4 oil-slick fronds grow from the center stem — which regrows every year. In the middle of the fronds is a single seed. It has been fed 18 Odr and seems to be sated, though it would not refuse more if offered.
A sealwood sapling has been planted. It has now grown to the size of a proper, adult tree. 7/7 of the branches bear the waxy leaves. If you so desired, you can now extract sealwood sap from the trunk. A single seed hangs from one of the branches. It has been fed 18 Odr and seems to be sated, though it would not refuse more if offered.
An extensive patch of falling moss has been planted, currently providing up to 9 clumps of moss. 9 Odr has been fed to it.
You have 11 Basic Pockets. (11 Slots)
-6 Holding 2 Frenzy
-1 Holding Travel pack of food, water, a blanket, and other survival stuff
-4 Empty
You have 1 Armory Pocket (2 Slots)
-Wondrous Drafty Iron Bolt Thrower (+9 Item Bonus, 6 Base Damage, Ranged, has Runes to make reloading and shooting occur faster)
You have 1 Improved Armory Pocket (3 Slots)
-Emberguard (see Equipment listing)
You have 1 Brewery Pocket (2 Slots)
-Holding three hearthberries, water, and honey (Batch started Year 11, Summer 1)
## Journal
Note: Unfortunately, I did not start keeping track of this until late Winter of Year 7, so that's my bad.
Seeking Aki
-In the Battle for Horra's Compound, Aki's fylgja was unfortunately killed. That means he's trapped in Ginnungagap — *without* a fylgja. You need to rescue him before he... well, before he's not Aki anymore.
-You managed to rescue him and learned just how low on the ladder you really are.
Troll-men Reprisal
-Troll-men attacked your farm, destroyed your home, and carried off your animals. This *cannot* stand. Vengeance must be had, one way or another, your burning soul demands it.
-After descending into the depths beneath your destroyed home, you met some svartalfar, one of which guided you to the troll-men nest.
-After a ferocious battle, you managed to destroy the nest. You even slew 1230 troll-men in the process! Good for you!
The Hading Witch
-Aki Runson pointed you towards a witch who, apparently, lives in the heart of the Hading. Maybe it's not a good idea to trust the word of a little blind boy, but when have you ever let something as minor as that stop you?
-Alright, so, turns out that the Witch isn't who Aki was trying to point you to. Which begs the question, who is the Witch?
-ALRIGHT. So, the Witch is *dead*. How long? You don't know. What killed her? You also don't know. You don't know a lot of things when it comes to this situation, unfortunately.
-...The evidence, what little there is, points to Halfdan being the murderer. But why? What reason would he have to kill the Witch?
The Freedfire Kenning
-Drifa called your father by a name unfamiliar to you. The name 'Steinarr Freedfire'. Why is it only now that you find out about this? Frankly, you're getting a bit annoyed at being so out of the loop!
-There's something about kennings that makes men act in certain ways.
-Since you've gotten your kenning of 'Longstride', you've been a bit more... You're not really sure, really. You suppose that you're bouncier than you used to be, and just generally faster, quicker to move. You also are struggling to slow down for the slower people.... Yeah, yeah kennings do have an effect, but how deep does it go?
-You met a man called Logi Firehair with, as the name would imply, hair perpetually on fire. Is that as a result of his kenning or is his kenning a result of it?
Skirsvikingar and You
-You fought and barely managed to edge out a victory against a Stoneson of the Skirsvikingar, thanks mainly to Abjorn's might and a *lot* of luck. But the question remains, what where Skirsvikingar doing in the Hading Valley of all places?
-You found a necklace bearing the words 'Skirsalr Entry-Key' and 'Stoneson Hakon Atlason' on Hakon Atlason's corpse. The name suggests that Skirsalr is the hall of the Skirsvikingar, but that doesn't tell you that much.
The Vestfold Amulet
-Asveig left you an amulet with her dying breath. Apparently, there's something in Vestfold it belongs with. No further details were given and you doubt there's much more you could learn from your home.
-The amulet has runes neither you nor Blackhand can read.
How to Write?
-Ever since you finished the Bible, you've been thinking about how knowledge is stored and passed down. Oral is good, but it could be better. One thing is clear, though, if you want to store information for a very long time, writing seems to be good at that!
-Book pages are made of a thin animal hide, with string to bind the pages, and a cover of some kind. With time, you could definitely make something like this.
Yellow-Eyed Drysalt
-Mentioning the name of 'Drysalt' threw everyone native to the Valley into a state of near-panic. What in all the realms is going on?!
A Second Kyrsvikingar Outpost?
-Eric's back and he's not alone. Apparently, a new Kyrsvikingar outpost has been set up in Asvir, but there's already one here... Just what is going on?
The Loaves of Lombardy
-Every since you feasted on some cheese-covered breadsticks and learned their origins — both by courtesy of Gary Tuskpuncher — you dreamed of what else you might discover in Lombardy, in the Kingdom of Italy.
The Heart of the Hading
-While walking home one evening, you happened to witness the retelling of Hallr Blackhand's battle against Hasvir Hadinghero. For some reason, you feel a strong desire to see the site where it happened.
Gabriel's Demons
-Gabriel's hiding something, maybe even some*things*. He even lied about them. You have your suspicions, but they're not certain.
Norsely Armor? Nordic Armor? Hmm...
-You know... If Knightly Armor is a shell, then what happens if *you* try and fill it? The first step is acquiring a set of Knightly Armor. While you're sure that Gabriel would be rather hesitant to give you his armor — if he even considered it — he might know who or where to point you to get one.
A Corpse in the High Chair
-You learned from Lidrun of the Red Scarf that the King and Steelfather of Vestfold, Halfdan the Black, may very well be dead. If so, then his former hall refuses to acknowledge it and continues going through the motions with a corpse in the high chair.
Here, Kitty-Kitty
-After finding the skogtatt's cliff-side cave home, you're left with something of a conundrum: How to make friends with a magical mountain cat?
Dorri
-Dorri and Drysalt worked together to kill your fucking father. You'll take your vengeance, one way or another.
## Poetic Inspirations
-The Draugr. You battled a Draugr and not only lived to tell about it, but also absolutely styled on it. This poem has 7 successes, giving you 2/9 orthstirr.
-The Ironbrother. You battled an Ironbrother and managed to eke out a victory. This poem has 12 successes, giving you 4/9 Orthstirr. +1 to Nut-Cracker, as well.
-Ginnungagap. You travelled along the banks of Ginnungagap. This poem has 10 successes giving you 3/9 Orthstirr.
-Niflheim. You travelled along the banks of the Land of Mists. Your best poem for it so far has 14 successes giving you 4/9 Orthstirr.
-The Bearbreaker. You were there when your husband earned a kenning. This poem has been written and its benefits provided to Abjorn.
## Stored Experiences
-The Swish of a Sheet as it is Swept Aside
-The First Warmth of the Rising Dawn
-The Glimmer of Cobwebs Bearing the Moon's Light
-The feeling of coming home to a place you've never been
-The glint of a sword as it is sharpened
-The feel of a sword being unsheathed
-The sounds of battle
-The Meeting Between Dorri and Drysalt
# Traits
Imbibing:
-Having imbibed the blood of a powerful fiery owlbear, you have the ability to submerge yourself in fire. The only difference between your flesh and flame is the current state it is in, which you can swap between freely. This grants +9 Resist as well as a factor of regeneration (you take damage as normal, but when you have breaks in combat you can focus on healing yourself). However, you take triple damage against the traditional foes of Fire. This does not include all the potential non-combat uses you may find for it.
Boons:
-Snake's Tongue - +1 to starting hugr and makes it easier to raise.
-Bold - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to gain orthstirr.
-Beautiful - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to charm others.
-Friendly - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to make friends.
-Bloodlust - Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to do acts of violence.
-Charred Soul - A trait guaranteed to be passed down to your successor. This trait gives the recipient access to the counsel of their predecessors as well as parts of their knowledge.
-Born of Fire - A trait guaranteed to be passed down to your children. You are resistant to fire and find it far easier to develop fire-based hugareida (Doubles XP to Training Fire-Based Hugareida and the Stoker State Martial Style), but take additional damage from water-based hugareida. (-2 to incoming fire damage)
-The Bloody Basics - The basics of combat are so ingrained in you that they're passed on to your children. Guaranteed to be passed down. (Your children start with Hone and Reinforce already unlocked)
-Born With Hammer in Hand: Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to forge. (Upgrades forged products by 1 tier, to a maximum of Superior if lacking Forgefire)
-It's About What You Leave Behind: Your children will have an easier time earning muna.
-Frenzybane: You gain a bonus to your rolls when fighting Berserks.
-Speaking Out of Law: Unlocks certain events and upgrades Social roll successes one category when socializing with beings outside the law.
Incomplete Boons:
-Little Sister's Wisdom (5/9): Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to convince older brothers. Unlock by being a wise little sister.
-Nut-Cracker (7/9): Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to scare men. Unlock by cracking nuts.
-Knightslayer (4/9): Unlocks certain events and makes it easier to battle Pages, Squires, and Knights. Unlock by dueling and defeating 9 different Pages, Squires, and/or Knights
-Jarl-in-the-Making (4/9): Have 9 different people (not related to you nor to each other) swear themselves into your service to unlock Incomplete Boon: Jarlssoul.
-Lawyer Up (1/9): Unlocks certain events and gives bonuses towards speaking in court. Unlock by successfully winning court cases.
-Army Cleaver (2/9): You have a knack for withstanding the horde, which makes it easier to fight against large masses of weak foes. Unlock by winning against overwhelming odds.
Flaws:
-A Woman in a Man's World - Makes it difficult to gain recognition for your actions.
-Bloodlust - You will struggle to stay focused on tasks if your Bloodlust has not been sated.
-Nearsighted - You vision is blurry at distance, making it harder to fight at range.
-Sooty - You don't feel quite right when you're not covered in soot or ash which, as a result, can make you a little grouchy. Fortunately, this doesn't make you smell or anything, though significant amounts of dirt will negatively affect your appearance.
# Equipment
Wearing a dress made of red cloth with black and gray thread adding trim in a style reminiscent of the ashes of the forge. A red apron is secured by a belt to your body. The belt has a couple pouches on it.
You've taken to wearing your Superior Gambeson over your dress and apron. This provides 16 Armor and +1 Defense.
Sagaseeker, the now-Realized atgeir, has a lively, catlike spirit and has a replenishing supply of 3 Orthstirr, which he allows you to use as you please, and may use Aspects to boost as normal. He grants you an extra +10 to attacks, though costs you both hands to use effectively. He now has Storm Iron infused into his edge, providing you with the ability to channel orthstirr into him for an extra point of Damage while allowing for non-hugareida lightning-based tricks to be used. His runes make him swing faster while forcing the enemy to swing slower ("I come down as the corpse-gulper rises, leave them wanting for what I arrived with."), effectively giving you an extra attack. He now has two additional sets of runes that grant him an undamageable edge and a resistance to hostile slowing effects (which is the result of a socket stone). Like the lynx that silently stalks its prey, Sagaseeker now is silent until the moment to strike, granting his enemies a slight malus when defending against him. Due to items he has consumed he can shift his shape fairly freely within the confines of remaining an atgeir, store liquid which he can use to color his own Runes, and has 12 Wind Charges and 1 Fire Charge he can spend for magical effects. He has been bathed in Godly Blood, allowing him to strike through defenses such as Rebuke or a Jotun's Skin that normally have prerequisites to even strike through (though this ability does not apply to damaging or destroying Steel).
You have hanging at your belt Ashen Kiss, a Wondrous-grade sax (+9, Molten Iron - Allows orthstirr to be channeled through to increase Damage by 2 [due to being quenched in a heat-enhancing potion], also allows non-hugareida fire-based tricks to be used. Runes on it cause any wounds it makes to be moved to the target's neck, and to repair itself after it is swung, it was forged with Wolf Bone-Ash and quenched ) and a sword, Burning Caress, which is a Wondrous quality sword (+9, made of Molten Iron just as Ashen Kiss, though it only increases damage by 1. It was forged with Wolf Bone-Ash and is covered in runes of armor-piercing and edge-protection.)
## Personal Equipment
-"Emberguard" Wondrous Mail Shirt + Mail-Necked Helm (Forged Iron) (21/21 Armor, +9 to Defense) (1 Orthstirr Reserve, +1d6 to rolled Hamr while worn due to Bear Bone Ash, Fire Resistance 1 due to Hearthroot Oil Quenching) (When Emberguard's runes are colored, it grants the wearer the effects of one instance of Target Tracking Eyes, most notably +1 to Ranged Damage, treats incoming Damage as if it were Fire Damage, and uses the wearer's fire resistance as if it were its own. It also renders the wearer functionally immune to being grappled or tied up. All but the Ranged Damage are from 3 Socket Stones.)
-Twin Snake Arm-Rings (They are both of Wondrous quality and are made from intertwining braids of gold and silver. One band—a golden dragon wrapped around a silver tree—bears runes to strengthen the bearer's blows while the other—a golden dragon wrapped around a silver spear—adds haste to their movements. These, when worn together, provide the wearer with +1 to Melee Damage and +1 to their Speed)
-A chain belt clearly modeled after Hooknails with 12 individual links that can each take 1 damage for the wearer, but must each be filled with pigment individually.
-A cloak with fire spun into it, it resembles the flame of a firepit, the tongues of fire even shifting to and fro as you turn it this way and that. Supposedly liquid also slides right off it.
-1 Fine Silver Armband (Worth ~15 Silver Oz) (Runes: 'Weaken, defy, and resist what is drawn to the beacon's light, what is found near the troll's cave, what is held in the swimmer's hand.' which protects against hostile magics and spirits with a specific focus on Horra and Hasvir.)
-1 Fine Silver Armband (Blank)
-1 Boar-Headed Horn (Encourages your allies while discouraging your enemies)
-1 Adder Stone, also called a Hag Stone or Odin Stone (a stone with a naturally occurring hole through it) that lets you see through all illusions and see the true form of shapeshifted creatures (including Norsemen, though their changes are usually minor) when you look through the hole. The works of a caster stronger than this item's creator cannot be seen through.
-1 Rune-worked amulet to help avoid magical detection for a person, allowing them to not be spotted by perception-enhancing magic or scrying effects
-1 Wondrous Set of Magic Boots, which leave no tracks.
-1 Forged Iron Flask of Endless Coffee
-1 Wondrous Storm Iron Fleinn (+9 to hit, the ability to channel orthstirr into him for an extra point of Damage while allowing for non-hugareida lightning-based tricks to be used, and Runes providing edge-protection and the ability to return to the hand once thrown)
## General Inventory
-Whalebone Bedrest (Adds 3 Extra Dice when rolling for children and a free trait pick)
-Lightning Rod (A long, copper pole that is said to attract lightning.)
-Treatise on Frisian Cultivation, by Archibald Lachapelle
-The Hallamal, by Halla Steinarrsdottir (A book covering Norse life in general with some of the secrets of Odr encoded in poems within it, with Fine Quality writing and Wondrous physical construction and Mastercraft Runes, bound in the hide of Moonless Night, a Fenriskin, the title written with Odr and runes on the cover saying "When this book is opened, the contents will be restored from damage.", its pages waxed with a mix of wax and Hearthroot Oil to defend against water and fire alike)
-2 Jurgdby Whetstones (80 oz. silver each, when used to sharpen a weapon, provide the effect of the Sharpen Trick (+1d6, +1 Damage) to the next hit with that weapon without damaging the weapon)
-1 Scrying crystal that allows for seeing through magical concealment when scrying or otherwise using magic to spy on people
-1 Old and somewhat battered wooden box holding a collection of beautifully carved bees, made of a strange dark stone with that seems to drink light. When these bees are taken out of the box, they come to life and begin recording what they see and hear. Whilst not especially intelligent, they can be given simple instructions, and are capable of flying surprisingly long distances. Putting them back in the box transfers their memories to the owner.
-1 Wondrous Tafl Board. The Owl Bone Ash allows you to pick one person every turn. They roll a d6. On a 6, their Capacity is upgraded by 1 (to a maximum of +3 per person).
-1 Wondrous Toolset (Forged Iron+Salamander Bone Ash) (Doubles base Armor Repair)
-1 Wondrous Pot (Forged Iron + Whale Bone Ash+ Runes) (Helps with storing fat and gives one additional turn before starvation occurs)
-1 Silver Drinking Horn. After drinking from it, you gain a slight understanding of birdspeak.
-1 Good Gambeson. Has 4 Armor and has your name embroidered on it.
-1 Suit of Sagaplate (Armor 27, +9 Defense. Dedicated to Odin, so per 1/10 Orthstirr dedicated to it, another +3 Armor, +1 Capacity, +1 Analysis, and +1 Initiative)
-3 Superior Bog Iron Rimmed Shields (4/4 Uses, +2 Defense)
-Bolt Thrower (+4 Item Bonus, 6 Base Damage, Ranged)
##Crafting Materials
-31 oz. Bog Iron, 402 oz. of Forged Iron, 12 oz. Icy Iron, 12 oz. Dusty Iron, 0 oz. Drafty Iron, 12 oz. Molten Iron, 6 oz. Storm Iron,
-12 Socket Stones
-6 Water-Wolf Pelts (Oddly wet to the touch.)
-1 Sixteen Point Buck's rack of antlers (a Monarch's Rack).
-50 Pieces of Blank Paper
-60 Units of Sprang (1 unit can be used to make 1 article of clothing)
-30 Units of Glass (1 unit can be used to add 5oz of worth to an item)
-375 Units of Restful Clay
-50 Units of Cooling Clay
-50 Units of Healing Clay
-43 Units of Whale Bone
##Consumables
-9 Bars Hashish (Has a calming effect and improves magic by a tier when used)
-22 Restful Clay Cups (distributed between adults on our and Jordan's/Steinarr's farm)
-16 Alarm Charms (distributed between adults on our and Jordan's/Steinarr's farms)
-5 unused Meat-Keeping Sticks
-6 Explosive Charms
-6 Glue-Bombs
-7 Amber-Trapped Lightning (Crushing this unleashes the stored lightning, often in a violent manner)
##Seeds
-29 Units of Wessex Seeds (1 unit can be used to seed a field with English plant-life of your choice)
-1 field's worth of Hashish seeds
-23 Falling Moss Seeds (Falling in this allows someone to survive a fall from any height)
-19 Drill-Well Tuber Seeds(When it is planted, it drills down in search of water sources which it then pumps back to the surface)
-2 Blood-Seeking Petal Seeds (Stops bleeding and mends wounds, allowing warriors to get back in the fight quicker)
-2 units of raw Woad
-20 units of sundry seeds
##Journal Entry Related Items
-1 Superior Bible (???)
-1 Suit of Knightly Armor
-A scorn-pole, the runes colored with old red paint. It was made by Horra Hasvisson and planted on your land.
-1 Rune-Carved Silver Amulet (You inherited this from Asveig... it doesn't feel right to wear, just yet)
-2 Wax Writing Tablets, With Styli
##Magical Trinkets
-1 Magical boat (designed to hold up to around 8 people) that floats in the air when its runes are used. Not very fast on it's own but it makes things in it weightless, so someone who can fly can pull it at however fast they go with minimal issues.
-1 Set of Spectacles that correct nearsightedness. Magical because they're basically unbreakable.
-1 Map of the lands and seas of Northern Europe (Scandinavia, the British Isles, a few points south of there). Magical because it tracks your position on it...there's a little picture of a ship/boat that moves as you do as long as you're in a ship or boat.
-1 Multiplying Fish (It multiplies upon poke, getting slightly smaller each time, will provide a total of 120 Food before running out)
-1 Seeingsnow, a Realized Ice Sword (Can see the past, Christian)
-1 Automatic Comb. It combs your hair automatically! Nifty!
-1 Weird stick thing. It leaves a dark trail where the point touches. Works as a writing utensil.
-1 False Eye. This is a strange, see-through, false eyeball that seems to contain a slumbering spirit. It may serve as a replacement eye should you somehow lose one.
-1 Glass Vial of Blood (Magical Cow's Blood of some sort)
##Unresearched Magical Trinkets
-1 Weird teeth necklace thing. Six large, pointy teeth sit on a woven cord. Each tooth hums with power. Clearly a necklace of trophies, perhaps allowing one to summon past kills to assist them?
-1 pot of Carbon Flour found in the Underhouse
-1 Strange Sword (Probably A Katana) (+7 to Combat. ???)
-4 Black, Spiky Seeds. They pulsate with a heartbeat-like tempo.
-1 Dwarven Hammer and Chisel. You're not really sure what it does, but it sure does *something!*
-1 Clay Bottle of Earthblood. Earthblood, of course, being lava.
-1 Vial of Liquid Sunlight. Incased in crystal, this bottle contains the liquid light of the river Leiptr.
# Feats (Grant 1/9 Orthstirr Progression per year each)
(+1 and 7/9 Orthstirr a Year)
You saved Halfdan's Farm
You won a wrestling match against Knappr Horrasson in a spectacular fashion
You battled and defeated a nisse-turned-monster when it attacked your home
You battled and defeated Father Gerrit while on raid
You attacked a Knightly Manor and didn't get absolutely bodied
You fought an Ironbrother-tier enemy and won
You battled a Threaded Man in defense of your friends
You went to Ginnungagap and back
You led a successful assault against a Keep in Wessex
You banished all illusions from a battlefield in Wolin
A poem was written by Banquet-Ronald praising your gift-giving prowess
You recovered the stolen ship of the merchant Johannes from the Wolinians
You beat a Magyar swordsman in a spar in less than a second
You provided wale meat for a grand feast
Fire-Bear Suplex (Shared, counts as 2 Feats)
# Heroic Feats (Grant 3/9 Orthstirr Progression per year each)
(+1 Orthstirr a Year)
You have Dueled a Jotun in Riddling and Won
You have dueled and defeated Hooknails
You have slain the Jotun Heklr
Abjorn Bearbreaker: (10/10) Abjorn is a large man, about a year older than you. He sometimes struggles to keep his temper down, though he's always been pleasant to you. You and he shared a kiss under a falling tree, cementing your relationship as lovers, though you and he are long past that stage now, for he is your husband and you his wife. Considered Lower Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Asgeirr Abjornsson: (10/10) Asgeirr is your firstborn. He seems to be rowdy and temperamental. He's easily the loudest crier of the three.
Sigurdr Abjornsson: (10/10) Sigurdr is your secondborn. He's much calmer than his siblings and far more social, which is why you decided that he should be the one to carry that odd puukko.
Eyvor Abjornsdottir: (10/10) Eyvor is your thirdborn. She's rather temperamental, but it takes a bit more to get her crying than it does Asgeirr.
Hallbjorn Abjornsson: (10/10) Hallbjorn is your fourthborn. He's got a grumpy nature and has a strange lack of hair to his face.
Steinulfr Abjornsson: (-/10) Steinulfr is your fifthborn, and twin to Asveig. He has full moon like eyes, but he's just a baby so everything else is still largely to be determined.
Asveig Abjornsdottir: (-/10) Asveig is your sixthborn and twin to Steinulfr. Like her brother, she has full moon like eyes, but is otherwise a baby. The two children are very similar indeed.
Bjorney: (2/10) Eyvor's pet bear cub. Doesn't have actual opinions on most people as of yet.
### Father's Family:
Father: (X/10) He loves you more than life itself. He would rather die than see harm come to you. However, he's starting to come to terms with the fact that he won't always be there to protect you. After the death of Asveig... he's gotten better, with the lifting of the curse, but he was still deeply affected by her passing right up until the end. Recently murdered on the orders of Dorri Rattlespear and Drysalt.
Mother: (X/10) You and your Mother... You don't get along, well, you get along better than you did before. You and her will never see eye to eye, not truly, but... well, at least you're not fighting anymore, right? Well... you'll never fight with her again now, you suppose.
Sterki Steinarsson: (6/10) He's a little scamp, just like his older sister. He enjoys being around you.
Steinkell Steinarsson: (3/10) He's your youngest brother and boy does he not really like you very much.
Randi: (10/10): Randi is a thrall of your father's and helps around the house. You grew up listening to her tell you stories, so she's got a soft spot in your heart.
Flekkr: (10/10): Flekkr the Dog is a friendly sort, once you got to know him. As long as you treat him right, he'll stay loyal to the end. It's clear he's suffered from human hands in the past and that's not something you want to remind him of.
### Sten's Family:
Sten Iskearauta: (9/10): It's been 10 years since your eldest brother by six years went off to be fostered somewhere. He's back now, though, with wife and daughter. He seems somewhat fearful of something, but isn't saying what. He's a master smith. Considered Upper Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Minna: (7/10): A petite and demure woman. She's certainly pretty, with blonde hair and quiet eyes, though she doesn't seem to be much of a talker.
Drifa Stensdottir: (6/10): An utterly adorable little girl. Frankly, she reminds you of yourself, when you were as little as her. As cute as she was when she disliked you, it's increased ten-fold now that she sees you as the older sister she never had.
Draupnir Stensson: (4/10): Draupnir is a bit ambivalent towards you, though certainly warmer than Steinkell!
Eldjarn Stensson: (N/A) Even as young as Eldjarn is, anyone with an ounce of spiritual sense can tell that he's got potential. He's bursting at the seams with it!
### Eric's Family:
Eric Steinarsson: (10/10) He's your older brother by about four years. He's fine, if a little absent-minded and a little timid, though that doesn't seem to be the case anymore! He seeks your counsel on certain matters. He's now a Stoneson of the Kyrsvikingar and an accomplished shipwright. Considered Lower Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Stigrun Kerssdottir: (6/10) You don't know much about Stigr's sister, other than that she's a bit flimsy. You've not spoken with her much.
Leif Ericsson: (5/10) Leif is your brother's firstborn. He's rather quiet and keeps to himself, though he is *very* inquisitive.
Leikny Ericsdottir: (N/A) Leikny is the current youngest of Eric's children. She's only a baby, not much going on behind those eyes.
### Asva's Family:
Asva Steinarsdottir: (10/10) She's your older sister by two years and was Mother's favorite. With Mother's death, she's really started to grow into her own. Still snide, but in an adult way. She's married to Jordan Halfdansson and is a talented seamstress.
Jordan Slick-Sword: (10/10) Jordan is... He's fine, you guess. On the handsomer side of the spectrum and is pleasant enough to be around, but not all that outstanding personality-wise. Above-average combatant, but that's about it. Considered Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Dan Jordansson: (N/A)
Asveig Jordansdottir: (N/A)
## Our Children's Traits And Birth Year:
All Kids: Godly Luck, Giant's Blood, Seeing Eyes, Snake's Tongue, Born of Fire, Bloody Basics, (this is basically the automatic stuff as well as +1 to every stat).
Asgeirr (Born Year 6): Bold, Wolf's Nose, Bloodlust, Wrathful, Stubborn, Low Self Control, -Wolf Fylgja (2 Positive, 2 Mixed, 2 Negative) + Cheerful, Religious, Sigurdr (Born Year 6): Bold, Friendly, Handsome, Stoic Silence, Wanderlust, Nearsighted, - Albatross Fylgja (4 Positive, 1 Mixed, 1 Negative) + Heroic, Passionate, Eyvor (Born Year 6): Beautiful, Bearheaded, Prosperous, Bloodlust++ (Upgraded version, gives actual bonuses to fighting but has a 5 season clock instead of 10), Terror-Bear's Loyalty, Wrathful, Woman In A Man's World, - Bear Fylgja (3 Positive, 3 Mixed, 1 Negative) + Reserved, Serious, Hallbjorn (Born Year 7): Friendly, Leader, Poet, Stoic Silence, Terror-Bear's Loyalty, Beardless, Hemophobia, - Beaver Fylgja (4 Positive, 1 Mixed, 2 Negative) + Animal Lover, Considerate, Steinulfr (Born Year 10): Eyes of the Full Moon, Shadowy Shroud, Friendly, Born With A Hammer In Hand, Stoic Silence, Bloodlust, - Unknown Fylgja (5 Positive, 1 Mixed, 0 Negative) + Snarky, Irreverent, Disconcerting, Asveig (Born Year 10): Eyes of the Full Moon, Shadowy Shroud, Friendly, Born With A Hammer In Hand, Stoic Silence, Bloodlust, Woman In A Man's World - Unknown Fylgja (5 Positive, 1 Mixed, 1 Negative) + Snarky, Irreverent, Disconcerting,
## Retainers:
Stigmar Kersson: (10/10) Stigmar is Stigandr's brother. You don't know much about him, but he seems pleasant enough. He's sworn himself to you, on account of acting when Stigandr was suffering from Nidheart. Has sworn an oath to us, considered Lower Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Tryggr Broadteeth: (9/10) One part of a pair of twins that you recruited after defeating in battle. Tryggr is the more wild of the two and seems to be a kind of kindred spirit to you. Has sworn an oath to us, considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Trausti Pinchfinger: (9/10) The other part of a pair of twins that you recruited after defeating in battle. Trausti is the more levelheaded of the two and can often be seen trying to rein Tryggr's antics in. Has sworn an oath to us, considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Vagn Wheel-Drifter: (8/10) Vagn is a friendly, happy-go-lucky Geat, who enjoys adventure. A First Grade Berserk, he has a Wheel Hugareida and a regrettable tendency to take hits from powerful foes, but is quite competent. Has joined Halla's household. Considered Lower Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Kare Wolf-Seek: (?/10) Wolf Hugareida, good at cooperation and tafl, has a wolf's head. Has sworn an oath to us, considered Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Ingolf Ulfsson: (?/10) Kare's younger brother. Scared of women, and magic users, and fire. He's very brave to have come into our service. Has sworn an oath to us, considered Lower Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Eysteinn Egilsson: (?/10) Newcomer to the valley, unusually lucky. Considered Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Hakon Thunderclap: (?/10) Younger brother of Haklangr and Haleikr Underfoot. Considered Lower Top in the Valley Power Rankings.
Alvis Torleifsson: (?/10) Archer, aspiring skald, fairly wise all things considered. Considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Trygve Ironoath: (?/10) Always keeps his word. Always. Considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Magni Little-Rock: (?/10) Giant's Blood and Rock Hugareida. Considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Kurt Frogtongue: (6/10) Kurt is your farmhand. He's decent at his job and has a notably long tongue. Has sworn to us, considered Upper Middle in the Valley Power Rankings.
Haydis Slipshoe: (6/10) Haydis is Kurt's wife and helps you look after your children. She's a strong willed woman, though tries not to be overbearing.
Hallotta Kurtsdottir: (5/10) Hallotta is the daughter of Kurt and Haydis. She gets along well with Sigurdr and Hallbjorn, but really doesn't like Asgeirr or Eyvor.
Lata: (?/10) Young Slavic girl we freed from thralldom
Kazimir: (?/10) Slavic scholar we freed from thralldom
Vesna: (?/10) Slavic mother of two we freed from thralldom.
Milan: (?/10) Vesna's son
Mira (?/10) Vesna's daughter
## Friends:
Stigr Kersson: (10/10) Stigandr, or 'Stigr' to his friends, is about your age. No matter how many times you've seen him get knocked down, he's never learned to keep his mouth shut. He's probably one of the best shots in the valley. He's probably your best friend, other than Abjorn. Now that he's back, it's like everything is right in the world... even though you know it can't be.
Aki Weaponwing: (10/10) Aki's about four years younger than you and he's an... odd child. Says things he shouldn't know and predicts the patterns of the weather, that sort of thing. He's rather sassy, but also extremely lonely.
Halfdan the Dane: (10/10) He's a tough old dog of a man. Armed with an atgeir, he is a force to be reckoned with on any battlefield. While Vidar has him beat in raw power and Steinarr out-skills him, Halfdan is still a veteran Varangian and that puts him at a high tier.
The Seeress: (9/10) The Seeress is a wise woman who lived in Asvir during the summer with her young daughter, Kolla (until Kolla ran off with Aki a little while ago). Her name is Solrun and she, apparently, had a pair of sons with Hallr. She's also teaching you seidr now, which is great!
Gabriel: (7/10) Gabriel is a Squire and a good friend of yours. Which makes him having sworn to kill your father more than a bit awkward.
## Foes:
Jarl Erikaer Corpsemaker, Jarl of Jurgdby and the Hading: (-100/10). There aren't enough words to describe how much you hate this man. He insulted your father in a massive way, by steal the high seat from him at your wedding. Unfortunately, as he is the Steelfather of the Kyrsvikingar, he's more or less untouchable.
Osborn Burisson: (-10/10) Turns out, being called-out on a lie by a 'woman of all things' really doesn't make some people happy.
Sverre Glebsson: (3/10) He tried to kiss you once, but Abjorn threw him into a pond. You don't hate him or anything, but it was kinda gross. He didn't take it very well, but doesn't hold any animosity towards you.
Hod Horrasson: (-3/10) He shot Abjorn with an arrow before having his chest blown open by one of Stigr's. If he's alive, you don't like him very much, plus he's got some sort of grudge against your father.
Knappr Horrasson: (-7/10) You wrestled with him at Asvir and absolutely demolished him. He's pissed and boy does he want revenge.
The Hading Witch: (X/10) Okay, there's something about her that *really* sets you on edge. With new information from Aki, you know that she's definitely *not* friendly. Though, she's probably not as big a threat anymore.
## Others:
Jerasmus the Mendicant: (9/10) Jerasmus is some kind of learned traveler, or something that Steinarr took as a thrall. He's very old, but has this infectious enthusiasm for life and learning that you can't help but like him. He's also Gabriel's 'teacher', for what you don't know.
Kolla: (?/10) A very strange child, she reminds you a bit of Aki. She's the daughter of Ironjaw and the Seeress, which means that she's got a wild time ahead of her. Ran off to Vestfold with Aki.
Joarr Halfdansson: (7/10) He's a younger guy, about Aki's age if you had to make a guess. Decent with a bow and spear, but he lacks any real drive to get stronger on his own.
Jon Halfdansson: (6/10) You've never formally met Halfdan's youngest son, though he's said to be a talented rider.
Torsten Twoshield: (5/10) A strange, short, and ugly man. He's your father's friend and wants to talk to him about a 'business proposal'. He's apparently a former Varangian, same as Steinarr.
Toki Thunsson: (10/10) A dwarf of Clan Duckling. He and his brothers live on — or rather, *under* — your land. He named you a dwarf-friend of Clan Duckling.
Clan Duckling: (8/10) The Dwarves of Clan Duckling treat you with respect. They will occasionally come with business offers for you.
Folkmarr Manetaker: (4/10) Folkmarr is a rather interesting young man, about the same age as you. He's a Jarl, which means a lot of things to a lot of people, but the most important part is that he's the boss. He killed a lion and wears its mane as his own. He's also related to fucking Horra Hasvisson, the bastard. But, in recent years, he's started to come around on a lot of things.
Audrikr Fishfighter: (6/10) Audrikr is probably the oldest of the felagi at 30 and is one of Folkmarr's hird. He wields a winged spear and has a sardonic sense of humor. He calls you 'sister', which is fun.
Barki Bertholdsson: (6/10) He looks like a child. He's small, there's not even a wish of a beard on his face, and he is weak. How in all the realms did he manage to get in this felag? Well, at least his voice is pleasant, when he's not stuttering all over the place.
Fabvir the Fabulous: (5/10) Possibly the handsomest man you have ever met. He looks strangely familiar, like you've seen pictures of him before... He fights with a sword with a guard shaped like antlers.
Hasvir Horrasson: (4/10) Hasvir... You're not really sure what exactly you feel about him. He's pleasant enough to you, but the way he treats other people... He doesn't want to continue the feud, which is a good thing, you suppose.
Gautrekr Klippsson: (X/10) (Died: Summer 5) He's bald and hates boats. He fights with an axe, a sax, and a shield. You don't know much about him, other than the fact that he tries to distance himself from you, on account of your brother the boat maker.
# Training and Stats
Training: 59 xp (1 from base, 34 from hamingja, 12 from Sparring [Halfdan, Abjorn, Stigmar, Tryggr, Trausti, Vagn Wheel-Drifter, Kare, Hakon, Alvis, Trygve, Kurt, and Magni], 1 from Partial Sparring [Eric, Ingolf, and Eysteinn], 5 from Training Item, 6 from Hooknails' Reckoning)
Doubled xp on Fire Hugareida and Stoker State Training, thanks to Boon: Born of Fire
Triple xp put towards learning Fire Hugareida tricks, thanks to Blackhand's Fire Safety Course (this stacks with Born of Fire additively to quadruple Fire Hugareida training xp in total).
Hamr
## Hamr
Rank 11 (Dice Pool is 11d6) | Infusion 8
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 256
Requires (511) more xp to rank up
0~0~0
General Tricks
-Sharpen Trick: A rather unorthodox trick that requires one to develop a considerable degree of control over their orthstirr. Using one's orthstirr, you shave away a layer of metal from the edge of a blade, leaving it with a new, perfectly sharp edge. (Adds an additional 1d6 for the turn and +1 Damage, but damages weapons, does not take up Capacity)
-Fortify: This is a general-purpose defensive trick that allows the user to strengthen themselves, their equipment, and their surroundings to better resist attacks. When something is Fortified, that object cannot be moved as long as Fortify is fueled. (Adds an additional 1d6 to defense rolls it is used on, Reduces Damage by 1, does not take up Capacity)
-Magnify-Sight Trick: Focusing your orthstirr into your eyes, you see the world sharper and far clearer than before (Counters Nearsightedness while active).
### Combat Combat Rank (9) (Dice Pool is 9d6) (256 xp Left) | Infusion 5 (+1 each to Initiative, Stamina, Speed, Capacity, and Analysis)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 32
Mastered Tricks:
Reinforce-Shield Trick: A Trick involving putting layers of Orthstirr over a defensive item to absorb enemy blows. (Perfection: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: Can generally only be used when combat begins or there is a significant break in the action.
-Special Effect: Gives the shield or armor it is put on a flat +10 HP that must be gone through first before the item can be penetrated. Any trick hitting it strips it of all trick-HP, though it leaves the item intact and effectively cancels the Trick.
-Base Damage: N/A
Refined Tricks:
Backstep Trick: A quick-use trick that allows the user to fling themselves back at great velocity. It while keep you safe from all but the most large scale attacks, however it gives your opponent ample opportunity to take advantage of. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Perfect. Dodges incoming attacks save large-scale. Gives opponent breathing room and forcibly ends an exchange.
-Base Damage: N/A
Focus Guard: A perfect parry trick. The caveat of this one is that it requires total focus in order to wield, which means that the user cannot move or dodge during its use. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: Requires total focus, which means that the user cannot move or dodge during its use.
-Special Effect: Perfect. Blocks and parries all incoming attacks, if possible.
-Base Damage: N/A
Hefty-Halter-Chop Trick: A chopping trick best used for purposes both defensive and intercepting. By swinging hard, the user tries to stop an incoming attack with one of their own. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Disarms opponents if successful.
-Base Damage: 0
Leaping-Cleave Trick: A trick that's a bit of a gamble. It leaves you somewhat vulnerable in the air and gives the target a window of escape, but deals devastating damage on hit. Strips defensive tricks and demolishes shields, at the very least. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: A moment of time to 'charge up' the attack, which allows the opponent to respond.
-Special Effect: Deals Armor Piercing 5
-Base Damage: 5
Meteoric Shot: When a projectile is fired, it leaps high into the sky before falling back down to earth towards its target. Deals heavy damage, very high range, and can be difficult to defend against if the target is unaware, however, it requires a moment of time to aim properly and is relatively easy to dodge if the person is aware of it. (Base Damage 4, 9 with Bolt Thower) (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: Takes a long time to land and, if the target is aware, is simple to dodge
-Special Effect: None
-Base Damage: 4 (9 with Bolt Thrower)
Shatter-Wrist Trick: A trick that's aimed at a shield that's meant to break the wrist holding it. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Ignores shields and armor
-Base Damage: 1
Stunner Slam: A quick-firing trick that aims to strike the target in such a way to leave them stunned, such as between the eyes or the stomach. Use of this in a fight can cause people to grow angry, as it can serve as a shaming-strike depending on location. (Base Damage 0-1 depending on location hit) (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Stuns and can serve as a shaming-strike
-Base Damage: 0
Tendon-Cut Trick: A relatively simple trick that focuses attack power on cleaving through a limb's tendons. (Deals no damage—as a lost tendon won't kill—but it does disable a limb if successful.) (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Disables a limb if successful
-Base Damage: 0
Tree Split Strike: A punch powerful enough to split a tree in half (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Breaks guards. Destroys objects.
-Base Damage: 1
### Non-Combat
Labor Rank (5) (Bonus Successes 5) (32 xp Left) | Infusion 4 (+4 Work)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 16
Total Work 18 (5 Skill +4 Infusion +2 Trick +6 Shapeshifting +1 Scarecrow)
Refined:
-Harvesting Sense: A farming trick that allows the user to tell exactly when crops are perfect for harvesting, which saves a lot of time allow the user to achieve the same results for less effort, with further refinements improving both time saved and final results. (Adds +1 Work per turn per level of refinement) (Mastered: 0/36)
-Sowing Sight: A farming trick that allows the user to see where to sow to achieve maximum effectiveness. This allows you to spend less time for the same result, with further refinements improving both time saved and final results. (Adds +1 Food per turn per level of refinement) (Mastered: 0/36)
Travel Rank (4) (Bonus Successes 4) (16 xp Left) | Infusion 3 (+3 to find interesting things while traveling or exploring)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 8
Refined:
North-Knowing Trick: Using the power of your mind, you now instinctively know where North is. (Mastered: 7/36)
Stoker State (Mastery 7) (Power 0, Finesse 7) (127 xp Left)
(+7 to rolls and +2 Damage to Stoker State Tricks)
(Starting Stoked Pool: 21, Max Stoked Pool: 63 - You can go over this, but take damage at the end of the round)
Effect:
Gain a Stoked Pool filled by Basic Moves (see Stages below), which may be spent with each point adding +1 to one roll in combat. When used with non-Stoker State Tricks this pool may only be spent in its entirety, but Stoker State Tricks allow it to be spent in smaller amounts.
Stages: (Upgrades every other Mastery Up)
-Stage 1 to 4: Every Basic Attack or Defense made adds 1 to 4 to the 'Stoked Pool' depending on Stage
Mastered:
Devouring Blaze: A large area of fire that disrupts many defenses and softens up opponents. (Perfected: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: 2 Orthstirr Minimum.
-Special Effect: Area of Effect that Breaks Guards and disrupts magical effects in general. Range and area increases with additional energy
-Base Damage: 0-1
Flame-Tending Blade: A powerful Finale in the shape of a massive sword of hardened fire. (Perfected: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: 1 Aspect. Requires both hands and time to charge.
-Special Effect: Begins charging at the start of a round and finishes at the end.
-Base Damage: Incalculable
Thermic Reckoning: A beam of focused heat aimed towards annihilating one person and all that stands in its way. (Perfected: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: 1 Aspect.
-Special Effect: None.
-Base Damage: Incalculable
Threadcutter: A Stoker State Finisher that delivers nine rapid-fire blows back-to-back to soften an opponent up before delivering a powerful attack to finish them off. The powerful attack is usually a Stoking Strike, but can be swapped out as needed. (Perfected: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: 9 Stoked Pool. 5 Orthstirr Minimum
-Special Effect: Any Stoked Pool added to this trick will be used in the final attack. These nine attacks grant Stoked Pool based on Threadcutter's level of Refinement; 0 at Rough, 1 at Refined, 2 at Mastered, 3 at Perfected.
-Base Damage: 1
Refined:
Brazier Bomb: A short range trick that sees the user planting a campfire-sized patch of fire on the ground. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: 2 Orthstirr minimum needed.
-Special Effect: If the enemy steps into it, it explodes. The user may also trigger it at will.
-Base Damage: 4
Ember Stoke: A passive trick that converts damage taken into extra Stoked Dice. It does not mean that you take no damage, it simply means that taking damage gives you dice. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: For the rest of the turn gain 1 Stoked Pool for every damage inflicted on you after Damage Reduction
-Base Damage: NA
Fire Poker: A medium-to-long range Stoker State trick that features a spear-shaped blast of hardened fire. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: None.
-Base Damage: 3-5
Fire Starter: A short-to-medium range trick that allows the user to throw fire at a point and create a location to use as a launchpad for fire-based tricks. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: As stated above, creates a launchpad for other fire bases Tricks
-Base Damage: 0
Stoking Engage: A powerful finisher that delivers many basic attacks all at once while building up more power to then unleash later. (Mastered: 3/36)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr Minimum.
-Special Effect: 1 Basic Attack per Stoked Point, +1 Speed per 3 Stoked Points, if hit during these attacks all remaining attacks are lost and the dice are not refunded
-Base Damage: 1
Stoking Strike: A basic offensive melee trick that allows the user to control how much power is put into it, and can hit multiple people if needed. Damage scales with power put into it. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Adds +1 damage for every 3 Stoked Pool dice, can be split among multiple people within reach
-Base Damage: 1
Tinder Blades: A short-to-medium range Stoker State trick that unleashes a flurry of hardened fire knives at an enemy. Does little damage on its own, but is great for area denial. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: ???
-Special Effect: ???
-Base Damage: ???
#### Glima
Glima (Mastery 7) (Power 0, Finesse 7) (128 xp Left)
(+7 to rolls and +2 Damage to Glima Tricks)
Effect:
Able to ignore incoming attacks from other hostiles while you're grappling an enemy
Refined:
Double-Leg Takedown: A wrestling trick that sees you grab your opponent behind the knees, lift them up, and then slam them against the ground. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: 2 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Uses a non-standard roll (an opposed roll of Hamr + Glima with no equipment bonuses or Combat Skill, so 18d6+8 for Halla),
-Base Damage: N/A
Knee-Groin Trick: A Glima trick that involves driving your knee between your opponent's legs and then bringing them to the ground. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Stuns and disables opponent, shaming strike,
-Base Damage: 1
Knee-Drop Back-Breaker: A throw where the user breaks an opponent's back over their knee. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: 4 Orthstirr minimum, must be used after a successful grapple.
-Special Effect: Stuns opponent
-Base Damage: 8
Momentum-Reversal: A wrestling contest that sees you go up against your opponent's hamr and wrestling skills. The greater their speed, the greater malus they receive. If successful, you leave them open for a pin or throw or other takedown. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: 2 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Uses a non-standard roll (an opposed roll of Hamr + Glima with no equipment bonuses or Combat Skill, so 19d6+8 for Halla), gains a +1 bonus on the roll for every Speed the opponent exceeds them by, creates an opening for more wrestling moves
-Base Damage: N/A
Palm-Crush Trick: A Glima trick that involves slamming your palm into various different parts of the body. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Stuns opponent.
-Base Damage: 1
Tight-Squeeze Trick: A defensive trick that can also be used offensively in a grapple to gain an advantage. When an attack is made against the user, the user responds by grabbing the offending limb and squeezing with all their might. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: Can disable limbs
-Base Damage: 2
Weapon-Grapple-Reversal: A wrestling contest that sees you go up against your opponent's hamr and wrestling skills . If successful, you wrestle their weapons away from their grip and get an opening for more wrestling moves. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: 2 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Uses a non-standard roll (an opposed roll of Hamr + Glima with no equipment bonuses or Combat Skill, so 19d6+8 for Halla), disarms opponent, creates an opening for more wrestling moves
-Base Damage: N/A
### Shapeshifting
You have 5 shapecrafted shapeshifting slots.
-High-Twitch Muscles x5 (Increases Attack Speed x5)
You have 10 natural shapeshifting slots.
-Improved Attractiveness x2 (+2d6 to Social rolls)
-Reduced Sleep x6 (Adds 6 Work per turn)
-Sharpened Senses x2 (Triples 'sensing' rolls, such as trying to detect something via sight or smell)
Hugr
## Hugr
Rank 12 (Dice Pool is 12d6) | Infusion 8
Rewrite Uses: 3/3
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 256
Requires (255) more xp to rank up
0~0~0
### General Tricks
-Recall: Call an unsecured object to your hand using the power of your projected will.
-Fast Recall: Quickly call an unsecured object to your hand using the power of your projected will.
-Unbinding: A general use Hugr Trick that allows one to undo knots at an accelerated pace.
-Lie Sense: A General Hugr trick that allows one to detect lies. It is simply a refinement of one's own lie detection senses.
Housecraft Rank (6) (Bonus Successes 6) (64 xp Left) | Infusion 3 (+3 minimum Quality when crafting)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 8
Smithing Rank (7) (Bonus Successes 7) (128 xp Left) | Infusion 3 (+3 minimum Quality when crafting)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 8
Wordplay Rank (5) (Bonus Successes 5) (32 xp Left) | Infusion 5 (+5 Capacity)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 32
### Other
Scouting Rank (5) (Bonus Successes 5) (32 xp Left) | Infusion 4 (Adds increased insight and ability to notice things)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 16
Refined:
-Give-Away Trick: A trick that points out signs of danger. Makes it easier for one's fylgja to give warnings, as well, and this effect improves with refinement. (Mastered: 0/36)
Social Rank (7) (Bonus Successes 7) (64 xp Left) | Infusion 4 (Calm Charges: 4/4)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 16
Refined:
(F) Cool-Off Trick: An active trick that allows you to flush your system with calming thoughts. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Facial Schooling: A passive trick that makes it progressively harder to get a read on you after initial reading. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Probe Trick: A Barb-Tongue trick that tries to figure out people's insecurities and faults. (Mastered: 0/36)
-First-Impressions Trick: A passive Social trick that improves first impressions (by +1 success, generally speaking). (Mastered: 0/36)
-Goal-Tell Trick: An active trick that gives you a good idea of what someone is angling for, if they have one and if you manage to slip past their Composure. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Lowest-Limit Trick: Through careful analysis of your opponent's words, attitude, stance, and many other things, you can now determine how low someone is willing to go in bartering with but a glance. (Mastered: 4/36)
-Light-Touch Trick: By carefully structuring and stressing your words, you can now ask questions and/or make requests that would be otherwise insulting—though there's no certainty of acceptance. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Contention-Connection Trick: Allows you to get a general grasp of the point of contention between two opposing parties without needing them to go over it again. (Mastered: 1/36)
Tactics Rank (6) (Bonus Successes 6) (64 xp Left) | Infusion 5 (Adds greater depth to your ability to read your opponents)
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 32
Mastered:
-Effort Gauge Trick: A relatively simple trick that allows one to gauge how much effort someone is putting into any given action. Precision increases with level of refinement. (Perfected: 0/72)
Refined:
-Talent Tell: A passive tactics trick that allows the user to identify what their opponent is best at whether it be melee combat, hugareida usage, or whatever it is. (Mastered: 6/36)
-Clay-Footsteps Trick: A trick that points out points of weakness. (Mastered: 6/36)
-Size-Up Trick: Allows you to tell if someone is better, equal, or worse than you in wrestling. (Mastered: 1/36)
(X) Alloy: Sunfire (Grade III) (Power 3, Finesse 0)
(+3 to rolls and +1 Instance to Sunfire Tricks) [Ignition + Unending Time In The Sun + REWRITE] Mastered:
Sunshine Slap: You slap your foe with the full, unbridled power of the sun. (Damage incalculable) (Mastered: 3/72)
-Special Requirements: 7 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: None, beyond the damage.
-Base Damage: Incalculable
Sunfire Spear: Forming a spear of sizzling sunfire, you hurl it at a foe at distance. (Damage incalculable) (Mastered: 3/72)
-Special Requirements: 8 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: None, beyond the damage.
-Base Damage: Incalculable.
(X) Alloy: Forgefire (Grade VII) (Power 3, Finesse 4)
(+7 to rolls and +2 Bonus Damage to Forgefire Tricks, +7d6 to Smithing) [Ignition + Campfire] Refined:
Forge Weld: A surge of concentrated flames allows two pieces of metal to bond together. (Mastered: 0/36)
(X) Alloy: Emberwind (Grade V) (Power 4, Finesse 1)
(+5 to rolls and +1 Bonus Damage to Emberwind Tricks) [Ignition + Gale] Perfected:
Sparkbomb: Originally a modified Kindle Spinner, this trick is designed to be a finisher. In accordance with its origins, it can be used both in melee and at range.
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Travels very slowly through the air.
-Base Damage: 12
Refined:
Fanned Flames: Speeds up and strengthens fire-based attacks, helping them to hit faster and harder. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Boosts fire-based attacks.
-Base Damage: N/A
(X) Alloy: Firestorm (Grade VII) (Power 5, Finesse 2)
(+7 to rolls and +2 Bonus Damage to Firestorm Tricks) [Ignition + Emberwind] Refined:
Dancing Sparks: Small motes of flame dance across the battlefield. (Mastered: 3/36)
-Special Requirements: 5 Orthstirr minimum, or use of Flamecalling
-Special Effect: Hits up to an entire battlefield, can channel whatever passive effects the user has to those the flames touch
-Base Damage: N/A
Flamecalling: Call every source of flame in a radius to yourself. (Mastered: 3/36)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Hits a huge area (at Rough it is a maximum of 3 miles, which increases as you refine it further).
-Base Damage: N/A
Unleash Inferno: With every source of flame at your disposal, you unleash the gathered mass in the general desired direction. You may use your own fire for this, but the cost increases exponentially. (Mastered: 7/36)
-Special Requirements: 9 Orthstirr minimum, or use of Flamecalling
-Special Effect: Hits up to an entire battlefield
-Base Damage: 1, halves all damage bonuses, including from Odr.
(X) Alloy: Stoked Contest
[Contested Movement + Stoker State + REWRITE]
Allows Contested Movement to count as a Stoker State Trick, allowing the use of any number of Stoked Dice on the Hamr roll it provokes.
(X) Alloy: Stutter-Stoke
[Standstill + Stoker State]
Standstill Tricks add dice to the Stoked Pool as if they were Basic Attacks. Additionally, while Stoker State is active, when a Standstill effect stops an attack, you gain Stoked Dice as if from a Basic Attack.
(X) Alloy: Stoked Ignition
[Ignition + Stoker State]
Ignition Tricks add dice to the Stoked Pool as if they were Basic Attacks.
(X) Alloy: Stoked Body
[Hamr + Stoker State]
Hamr Tricks add dice to the Stoked Pool as if they were Basic Attacks.
(X) Alloy: Banish the Nightmare
[The Mind's Eye Blinks + Banish the Night]
Allows you to emit enough light to illuminate a room at will, and to have that light banish all mental illusions within its radius, but may not be used at the same time as Banish the Night.
(X) Alloy: Fight Of Our Lives
[Fight Of Your Life + Banish The Night]
The bonus from Fight Of Your Life is split among allies hit by Banish The Night's light.
(O) Alloy: Solar Flare
[Ignition + Banish the Night/Unending Time in the Sun]
Ignition Tricks are infused with the light of the sun.
(O) Alloy: Stoked Snare
[Glima + Stoker State]
The benefits of Stoker State apply to Glima. So Glima Tricks can use only part of the Stoked Pool.
(O) Alloy: Piercing Ignition
[Ignition + Puncture]
Ignition Tricks all have Puncture for free. Puncture cannot be used on other Tricks.
(O) Alloy: Extinguish
[Ignition + Inverted]
While this is alloyed, fires cannot start in your vicinity, but you cannot use Ignition Tricks.
#### Momentum
Standstill (Grade VIII) (Power 6, Finesse 3)
(+9 to rolls and +3 Instances to Standstill Tricks) Perfected:
Slowing-Slog: A Standstill trick that slows incoming attacks, robbing them of their lethality.
-Special Requirements: This is a very difficult trick to maintain and, as such, cannot be done simultaneously to other tricks.
-Special Effect: Reduces damage by the amount of Orthstirr invested for the round, to a maximum number of points of damage reduction based on its level: 1 for Rough, 3 for Refined, 6 for Mastered, 9 for Perfected. No longer limits the use of other Tricks at Perfected.
-Base Damage: N/A
Iron Embrace: A Finale of ??? that imposes great and unbearable weight on everyone nearby, freezing them in place while the user acts.
-Special Requirements: Costs 1 Aspect
-Special Effect: Grants one free unopposed action for every level of refinement (4 at Perfected).
-Base Damage: N/A
Mastered:
Contested-Movement: A low-cost move that seems to slow down time, letting the user turn an incoming attack into a contest of Hamr. The victor carries on with a either a trick or a basic attack against the loser. If neither are available then the opponent's attack is simply stopped. (Perfected: 1/72)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Makes any attack it opposes a raw Hamr contest, with the winner hitting the loser with an attack.
-Base Damage: 1, or as per Trick.
Halting-Vortex: A three-foot wide circle of invisible stopping force swirls around your palm and acts the role of a shield. (Perfect defense) (Perfected: 0/72)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Perfect. Blocks and parries all incoming attacks, if possible.
-Base Damage: N/A
Inertia-Arresting-Throw: Throw out a cloak of Standstill that can either block ranged attacks or stop a weapon in its tracks until you free it. (Perfected: 1/72)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Can be used offensively or defensively, generally traps the target for one blow, Odr added to effect increases the number of hits needed to break it
-Base Damage: N/A
Semi-Halting Vortex: A field modification of Halting Vortex that sacrifices stopping power for reusability and mobility. (Perfected: 1/72)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: Provides a Guard-style ongoing rolled defense that effects an area, using Standstill level for Item Bonus
-Base Damage: N/A.
Stutter Step: Allows you to loosen the restraints of perception, 'stuttering' in and out of view as many times per round as you have steps. You can only manage one step at the current time. (Perfected: 1/72)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Can act to provide a penalty to enemy defenses, or as a Conditional Defense against attacks a single step can avoid
-Base Damage: N/A
Refined:
Mire Ward: Produce a slowing field around you, that hinders the movements of all caught in its grasp whether it be friend, foe, or object. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: Requires user to be immobile while in use.
-Special Effect: Halves the speed of everything within its radius other than the user, can act as a Conditional Defense against physical ranged attacks
-Base Damage: N/A
Veto-Motion: A Standstill trick that robs the user of any momentum, stopping them instantly and harmlessly on the spot. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None.
-Special Effect: Allows pinpoint maneuvering by stopping instantly and similar things. would work to counter being thrown and similar things.
-Base Damage: N/A.
#### Fire
Ignition (Grade IX) (Power 7, Finesse 2)
(+9 to rolls and +3 Bonus Damage to Ignition Tricks) Perfected:
Ember-Winged Cloak (No cost): This is an awfully expensive trick that allows you to defy gravity, at least for a little while.
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Allows fast, powerful, flight.
-Base Damage: N/A
Firebomb-Strike (No Cost): You swing a weapon and produce an explosion on impact. Not very complicated, just expensive.
-Special Requirements: A very brief moment of time to 'charge up' the attack, which allows the opponent to respond (though, being Perfected, they would likely need a Perfected option to do so).
-Special Effect: Though it only hits one person in most combat scenarios, can generally only be avoided by things that can avoid AoE
-Base Damage: 2-4
Kindle Spinner (No Cost): Call up a tightly-spinning ball of densely-packed fire. You can either detonate it directionally with a flick of the wrist or lob it underhanded to send it bouncing along, where it'll explode on contact with an obstacle.
-Special Requirements: Requires a solid surface to bounce along or it moves very slowly when used at greater ranges.
-Special Effect: Area of Effect hitting up to three warriors standing together
-Base Damage: 3
Mastered:
Flashfire Cleave: This trick is a combination of Ember-Winged Cloak and Leaping-Cleave. While it retains its armor-penetrating effects, its damage now suffers as a result. (Perfected: 2/72)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Advances into melee with chosen foe near instantly, deals Armor Piercing 5.
-Base Damage: 1
Refined:
Explosive-Reactive Armor: This trick allows the user to 'paint' themselves with an extra layer of armor that, when struck, explodes to deal damage to the attacker. (Mastered: 2/36)
-Special Requirements: Must have Reinforce Shield activated.
-Special Effect: When Reinforced Shield is broken, this Trick activates, dealing damage, and can act as a conditional defense against some ranged attacks
-Base Damage: 3
Eyeshine Blind: An Ignition Trick allowing one to generate a burst of light in the hopes of blinding nearby foes (Mastered: 3/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Blinds nearby foes.
-Base Damage: 0
#### Wind
Gale (Grade I) (Power 1, Finesse 0) (0/12 xp)
(+1 to rolls on Gale Tricks) Refined:
Dead Air: A Gale trick that stops the wind from carrying noises in an area. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Conceals all sounds made by the user and any small group they are with.
-Base Damage: N/A
Sailwind: A Gale trick that pushes things forward, though can struggle with heavier things. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Pushes objects and people around, can be used to propel Sparkbombs.
-Base Damage: N/A
Slipstream: A passive speed-enhancing trick that, while rather expensive, can yield results. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Grants +1 Speed when used
-Base Damage: N/A
Vortex Gathering: A Gale Trick that allows one to pull people, animals, and unsecured items to themselves while keeping those affected trapped. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: The user cannot move while this trick is being used.
-Special Effect: Traps nearby foes (using an opposed roll to escape, not counting items)
-Base Damage: N/A
#### Weapon
Sword (Grade III) (Power 2, Finesse 1) (0/24 xp)
(+3 to rolls and +1 Instance to Sword Tricks) Refined:
Sword Guard: A trick that summons a spectral sword to guard you. Incoming attacks must first get through this defense before they can challenge your own. If the sword is defeated, then it must be summoned again. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: 3 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: Provides a Guard-style ongoing rolled defense that protects the user, using Sword level for Item Bonus
-Base Damage: N/A.
Atgeir (Grade III) (Power 3, Finesse 0) (0/12 xp)
(+3 to rolls and +1 Instance to Atgeir Tricks) Refined:
Atgeir Bodyguard: Summons a ghostly atgeir that follows either the user or a selected target. Before an attack can reach the target, it must first get through the atgeir. Upon unsuccessfully stopping an attack, the atgeir breaks and must be re-summoned. (Ongoing rolled defense) (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: 4 Orthstirr minimum.
-Special Effect: Provides a Guard-style ongoing rolled defense that protects one target of the user's choice, using Atgeir level for Item Bonus
-Base Damage: N/A.
Atgeir Counter Stab: Summons a ghostly atgeir that follows either the user or a selected target. When the target is attacked, the atgeir launches a counter-attack of its own. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: 5 Orthstirr minimum
-Special Effect: Grants a free counterattack against every attack made against the user, using either the Atgeir Hugareida's stats or those of the other option (whichever is lower) if the Trick is from another Style or Hugareida, and an Item bonus equal to Atgeir Hugareida (is used by Sagaseeker, he may use his own Item Bonus instead).
-Base Damage: 1, or by Trick
Forceful Lever: Summons a ghostly atgeir to forcefully move someone around, if they fail to defend properly against it. If the person wills it, they may allow themselves to be moved unopposed. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: Imposes forced movement on the target.
-Base Damage: 0
#### Utility
Campfire (Grade V) (Power 0, Finesse 5) (3/72 xp)
(+5 to rolls and +1 Instance to Campfire Tricks) Refined:
-Beaconlight: By lighting a beacon in the night, you draw the gaze of spiritual predators preying on the forms of your beloved. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Dry Off: A surge of warming flame robs cold of its bite. Using it too much can result in burns. (Mastered: 3/36)
-Sickness Sear: By bringing a healthy flame near to where the sickness lies, the fire cleanses the area and restores the patient to good health. Only works on mundane sicknesses and poisons. (Mastered: 1/36)
-Tenderizing Roast: A Campfire trick that tenderizes meat through a slow roast. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Warm Up: By mantling a comforting fire, one can project an aura of calming heat. (Mastered: 3/36)
Clearwater (Grade I) (Power 0, Finesse 1) (0/24 xp)
(+1 to rolls on Clearwater Tricks) Refined:
-Scouring Cleanse: While harsh on fabric, it can't be denied that a spray of water does a good job of cleaning things quickly and efficiently. (Mastered: 0/36)
Rough:
-Spring Source: Conjures fresh water from the palm or fingertip. Fingertip is a trickle while palm is a spray. (Refined: 0/6)
-Tracking Someone by Their Hair (Visual): For this, you will need three tail feathers, the hair of the person in question, and an eyeball. The ritual can only be done at high noon or midnight. Place the feathers in a circle around the eye — the pupil must be staring at the sky and the feathers must be facing away from the eye. Next, take the strand of hair and puncture the eye through the lens. Enter the Trance and consume the hair-pierced eyeball. Do not chew, you have to swallow it whole.
-Glowstone Spirit Trap: For this, you will need a chunk of glowstone, which serves as the anchor by which you bind a spiritual predator. By placing items that correspond with desired attributes next to the stone, you will then expose yourself to the Dark Forest. However, when a spirit matching those attributes approaches to take advantage of your apparent weakness, it will instead be sucked into the glowstone, as you will have carved and colored runes into the stone. When hostile spirits next approach your house, they will be attracted to the glow of the stone and will be sucked in as well. Either the original spirit will win the ensuing brawl, or you will have a new occupant in the stone. Only works on one spirit at a time.
-Divination: For this, simply use anything that involves luck to divine information, because anything will work as long as the relevant Gods or spirits are alerted and have room to influence the outcome.
-Contact Fylgjukona: Take some blood from the fylgjukona's family, an ash and elm-fueled fire, and nine links of an iron chain. Place the links in an even spread around the fire before tossing in the blood to summon the spirit. Be careful what you ask, for while fylgjukona are powerful in their own right, they can also call upon Valkyries for aid.
-Reveal Fylgja: Acquire some kind of smearable substance—such as clay or ash or mashed plants—and then mix in the swish of a sheet as it is swept aside, the first warmth of the rising dawn, and cobwebs bearing the moon's light, before applying it to the eyes.
-Orthstirr Sieve: A complicated spell that involves the use of Orthstirr to slowly filter Odr into relatively safe concentrations. Needs significant time to cast and must be cast nine times in order to complete 1 Odr.
#### Weave Seidr
Healing:
-Bone Settlement: A spell that swiftly sets broken bones and rapidly speeds up healing.
-Odr Soul-Shock: This seidr spell cannot use odr in place of orthstirr. Essentially, once the body of the bodily dead is healed, the soul needs a slight jolt to get back in the saddle—in this case, that jolt is a tiny bit of odr that's been filtered through layer upon layer of orthstirr so that it doesn't harm the subject's soul in the process.
-Time Heals All Wounds: A spell that heals the injured back to peak health, but requires constant touch to work.
Fylgja:
-Weighed on the Scales: Your fylgja is, by nature, on the look-out for threats and dangers. This technique simply hones that aspect and focuses it on a single figure, allowing you to get an understanding of the threat they pose
-Raven's Unriddling: A Weave Spell that allows one to detect deception.
-Calling for Congress: By having your fylgja make a specific, predetermined call into the fold between worlds, you call specific fylgjur in order to conduct any manner of business.
-Follower Finds a Friendly Fellow: By giving a spirit a piece of your fylgja, you make it significantly easier to find and summon them again.
Utility:
-Domestic Spells: Spells that handle the domestic side of things. From cleaning stains from cloth to quickly preserving food for winter, this method of magic does it all.
-Slow Time: Slows the passage of time for a single willing individual or object. All bodily and mental processes are slowed significantly as long as the spell is in place, letting the Seeress figure out a solution for their problems in a longer span of time, or even cast delicate spells at a better time frame (like Draw Poison, for example.) Or for a certain Halla, make Frenzy Initiation somewhat less fraught. Can be left in place if needed (deducts Orthstirr from caster's Orthstirr pool until dismissed).
Wards:
-Barricade Ward: A spell that places a barrier around the doorway. When hostile spirits approach, they will find the door locked and barred even if otherwise appearing open.
-Privacy Ward: Very useful for when you wish to practice your 'marital styles', but also to avoid gazes, muffle sounds, create sight-stopping shrouds, and other privacy-related things.
-Lock Seal: A lock seal must be unlockable. No matter the mechanisms and strength of the lock, it can always be bypassed through brute force. A lock seal will not stop a determined enemy, but it can and will give you time to prepare, assess, and react accordingly. Depending on what manner of things you've added to the lock seal, the spell itself may do the work for you.
-Signpost: A simple spell that, when cast, allows one to convey concepts to those who happen into its range. One can convey complex subjects through the layering and clever application of multiple signposts.
-Backlash Seal: A seal that activates some kind of set effect when parameters are triggered.
-Soul Shroud: Creates a 'simulacrum' of the caster's mind/soul on top of their own, with the intention of it being 'hit first' by mental/soul magics. Absolutely will not pass inspection for a real mind/soul by anyone doing more than a cursory glance, does not actually possess any real thoughts, only the appearance of such.
#### Stitch Seidr
Healing:
-Stabilizing Palm: Stabilizes heavily wounded, as long as it is not their time to die.
-The Quickest Stitch: A quickly casting spell that swiftly mends cuts and slashes, but does little for broken bones or internal injuries.
-Draw Poison: A spell that draws poison from a wound, no matter the potency. Struggles against poisons of spiritual nature, but is not completely ineffective.
-Sear Diseased Flesh: While extremely painful and sometimes scarring, this spell *will* stop disease in its tracks.
-Neutralize Poison (Costs 3 Orthstirr on top of all other costs): Transmutes poison to harmless liquids. More effective against magical poison than Draw Poison. This requires one or more of the following three Experiences to function: The sensation of drinking truly vile medicine (the worst tasting, the better), Water (ideally murky and poisonous water) being purified by boiling, or the warmth of sunlight on skin. It may be more effective if used with up to nine of the following reagents: silver dust, salt, charcoal, and as many medicinal plants as possible (each counting as a separate reagent).
Mental:
-The Mind's Eye Blinks: A quick casting spell that clears the imagination of unwanted images.
-Identify Concept: A spell that quickly rifles through known things to identify what a potentially unknown thing is.
-Banishing Rebuke (Costs 1 Orthstirr on top of all other costs): A spell that forces hostile spirits and spells away by sheer power.
Elemental:
-Unending Time in the Sun (Costs 3 Orthstirr on top of all other costs): A seidr spell that summons a miniature ball of sunlight to float around behind you. Lasts a full day, but can be dismissed at will. If dismissed, it needs to be summoned again.
Communication:
-Eyetalking: By locking eyes with someone, you are able to send messages to them. They cannot respond unless they also have Eyetalking.
-Signalfire: A modified Signpost spells that you shoot off into the spirit realms. They're built so that they only poke spirits that meet the criteria that you set when creating the spell.
Spiritual Combat:
-Probe Stitch: A spell that pokes a spirit and lets them know that you know they're there while getting some cursory details.
-Overwhelm Stitch: A spell that focuses on overwhelming your opponent with raw magical strength and/or some other kind of power like fire or ice.
-Pierce Stitch: A spell that pierces through defenses while dealing small damage.
-Cleave Stitch: A spell that struggles to get through defenses while dealing lots of damage.
-Crush Stitch: Similar to Overwhelm in that they focus on overpowering your opponent. However, Crush Stitches differ in that they're focused on one spot at a time.
-Flank Stitch: A 'fire and forget' spell. You mix it together with another spell and then they go off on a wide arc before coming back around—potentially when your opponent is undefended and/or to apply pressure or what have you.
### Twists
-Punching Up (Cost 2 Orthstirr): When fighting an opponent twice as strong as you, your combat rolls are multiplied by 1.5, rounding down.
-Hidden in Rags (Cost 1 Orthstirr Committed): When dressed in rags, you can avoid unwanted detection as long as they don't know you're there. Getting detected by hostile Norsemen while wearing rags will cause them to laugh at you, which has the potential of giving you minor nid.
-Puncture (Cost 1 or 3 Orthstirr): Allows attacks to slip through perfect defenses. This costs 1 Orthstirr per turn if applied only to Tricks, and 3 Orthstirr if applied to all attacks.
-Against the Odds (Cost 2 Orthstirr): When you are fighting against many enemies, for every enemy you are crossing swords with, you gain an additional +2 to every roll.
### Muna
-First Kiss Under A Falling Tree - You remember how the world seemed to freeze as you and Abjorn kissed. Unlocks Standstill Hugareida.
-Lesson of Fire - You remember how your blood sang so sweetly as you plunged your hand into fire. You now understand fire, at least this level of it. Unlocks Ignition Hugareida.
-The Fight of Your Life... So Far - You remember how the thrill of battle pulsed through your veins. This grants you a +7 bonus to any single move in combat, thrice per fight.
-Vows of Love - You remember the vows you made on your wedding day, on the hilts of swords both old and new. This gives you a free trait lock-in/lock-out for your future children.
-Fighting Father Gerrit - You remember how it felt to have to punch up, outside of your weight class. Gives you Twist: Punching Up.
-The Return of Stigr - You remember how it felt to have your friend back. Gives you Twist: Hidden in Rags.
-Failing Vortex - You remember how the Storm Arrows pierced your Halting Vortex. Gives you Twist: Puncture.
-A Mother's Fear - You remember how your heart hang heavy with the lack of knowledge towards your children's condition. Never again will you have that fear, that uncertainty for now you know your children's condition at all times.
-Determination From Defeat - You remember how it felt to lose, but even more so you remember the fire it lit inside. After suffering a defeat, you get 1.5x your current training xp for the next turn.
-Whistling Wind - You remember how the wind whistled as you fought Sten. Unlocks Gale Hugareida.
-Fire in the Sky - You remember how you flew through the air on wings of fire. Grants the Skyfire kenning.
-Steinarr's Sword - You have witnessed swordplay perfected. Unlocks Sword Hugareida.
-Meeting Your Grandfather - You finally met Hallr Blackhand — in person — while successfully communing with your atgeir, Sagaseeker. Unlocks Atgeir Hugareida.
-Banish the Night - You banished the Empty Night with the power of the sun, which allows you to emit enough light to illuminate a room at will. This light also strips emotional manipulation effects from all it bathes.
-Different After All - You and Blackhand may share the same soul, but that doesn't mean that you are him. Stepping from beyond his shadow, even as little as you have, has strengthened your ability to cultivate odr.
-Piercing the Veil - You pierced the veil covering Iceland, which means that you must have some kind of Seersight, right? Grants limited access to Sundersight (The ability to look at something and gain an understanding of its weaknesses)
-Sunshine - You remember facing someone in the throes of berserkergang in combat. Grants the Sunshine Kenning.
-Hooknails' Reckoning - You remember the conflicts between you and Hooknails, both how it began and how it ended at your hands. Grants +6 xp per turn.
-Honor thy Father - You remember your father and all he meant to you. Your children will have an easier time learning the skills your father had.
-Gotland's Call! - Though you won't ever be able to return to Gotland, you still carry a piece of it in your soul. Expands your Soulscape to include a facsimile of Gotland
Fylgja
## Fylgja
Rank 10 (Dice Pool 10d6) | Infusion 7
Odr Required for Next Infusion: 128
Requires (512) more xp to rank up
0~0~0
Your fylgja is a Cindersoot Owl.
Fylgja Traits:
-Spirit of the Owl - When competing with other Tricks, your Tricks are considered one level of refinement better. When engaging in spiritual combat, you are considered to win ties.
-Wizard-Owl - Occasionally bringing you magical spells, potions, and other miscellaneous things.
-Cindersoot Owl - Forging things just comes easier now. You can tell exact temperature at a glance, even when it's stopped glowing, which allows you to complete projects quicker and more efficiently (this halves the Work cost for In-Depth Crafting). You also have a greater resistance to heat and flames and can eat coal and/or coke for sustenance. (-2 to incoming fire damage, for -4 total)
-Father's Cindersoot Owl - In memory of, and connection with, your father this adds a +1 bonus to basic moves per level of Fylgja and Combat Skill (+18 total at the moment)
F.Endurance: 17/17
F.Capacity: 17/17
-Superior Bog Iron Rimmed Shield (4/4 Uses, +2 Defense) x9
-Restful Clay Cup (Restores all Orthstirr when used) x3
-Bomb Boulder (Variable Damage, usually around 25-ish) x2
-Cool-Off
-
-
Shapeshift/Alloy Slots:
-Fast Creation (3 Frenzy)
-Fast Creation (3 Frenzy)
-Fast Creation
-- 4Fold Kindle Spinner
-- 3Fold Sparkbomb
-- Inertia-Arresting Throw
Standing Orders
-During combat feed us shields and other items as necessary via the Armory Pocket (only usable once per turn)
-Refill the '4Fold Kindle Spinner' Trick-storing Fast with a 3Fold Kindle Spinner whenever it is empty
-Refill the '3Fold Sparkbomb' Trick-storing Fast with another identical Trick whenever it is empty
-If we experience any sudden burst of anger use Cool-Off automatically to keep a clear head
-During combat feed us Restful Clay cups as necessary via the armory pocket
-Empty
-Empty
-Empty
Refined:
Flap-Away Trick: A trick that helps a flying fylgja dodge out of the way of incoming attacks, as well as granting them a brief burst of speed. (Mastered: 0/36)
-Special Requirements: None
-Special Effect: With a roll, dodges incoming attacks save large-scale.
-Base Damage: N/A
-Owl-Eye Pulse: A short-range trick that allows an owl fylgja to send out a 'pulse' of spiritual power. When the pulse encounters something, it bounces off back to the owl. (Mastered: 0/36)
Runes
## Runes
### Decoded Runes: "Let those who taste its bite stay fresher than morning dew"="Anything stabbed with this stays completely fresh"
-Allows creation of Meat-Keeping Sticks (2 Work Dice) "Hardened-Soft Meets Black Man's End. Force of Fire is Low-Tide's Gift."="When the pottery breaks, it leaves an explosion behind"
-Allows creation of Explosive Charms (3 Work Dice)
-Explodes (3 Damage) "Let all struck by falling-feathers be like the trees."="When this bow's arrows strike a target, they're rooted in place for a time."
"When iron is damaged, it is fixed after it swings."="When the iron is damaged, it is repaired once swung."
"Breaking Brittle Bones Brings Battle." = "Breaking this clay gives off an alarm."
-Allows creation of Alarm Charms (1 Work Die)
0~0~0
### Known Runes:
The Unfinished Final Act of the Wavedancer's Helmsman:
"Net-Holder, See Us Safely-"
0~0~0
### Created Runes:
"What is cooked in this pot will be healthy to eat." - Written on our Cooking Pot
"Those who use me shall train their thoughts to run swift like the hanged god's steed, and their wills as hard as Hrungnir's bane." - Written on our Taafl Board
"Bear my weight, burden willfully, / Spirit strengthening as the hand-sacrificed god. / Feel my fetters, free from rest, / Sight sharpening as old one eye's twin stares." - Written on our Fylgja Training Harness
"Net-Holder, See Us Safely Through Wind And Wave" - Finished version of the Wavedancer's runes we went with.
Emberguard's Runes:
Helmet: "Helm 'pon head, hard head-guard./Gift your gaze through twin gates./With eagle's eyes, easy hunting prey./Sharp seeing sight staring down foes." - Grants +1 Ranged Damage
Socket Stone #1: "Strike me, my skin of iron./All that would harm and hurt./Find your blows, now are flames./Etch upon me, embers alone." - All damage dealt to the armor counts as fire damage
Socket Stone #2: "I felt heat, born of fire,/Blackened burns I know well./Fireborn-worn, fireproofed I am./Persist as you against pyroclasm." - The armor gains the wearer's fire resistance
Socket Stone #3: "Unbound, unchained/Free of fetters high and low/Movement, momentum/Wearer's will alone abided" - Generally keeps people from grappling or tying us up against our will
# Property
Yearly Taxes: 26oz Silver
(20oz from Wavedancer, 6oz from Abjornsby)
Yearly Orthstirr Gain: +1
(+3/9 from Wavedancer, +2/9 from Abjornsby, +4/9 from Horses)
0~0~0
## Abjornsby
### Overview
0~0~0 Land 7
Maximum Food Produced/Turn: 46 (including +2 from Trick)
Total Food Required/Turn: 28 (34 with Animals and Trade Deal)
Net Food Gained/Turn: 12
Silver Gained/Turn: 11 and 1/2 oz. silver
Tools 8 (-1/3 Progression)
Crafting: +16 Successes (+8 successes away from home)
Training Items: +5 xp per turn, doubled xp on all Attributes and Skills (except Travel), 2 Hugareida/Martial Styles (Glima, Standstill),
Infrastructure 8
Living Space Capacity: 10/40
Adult Residents: 18
(Halla, Abjorn, Stigmar, Tryggr, Trausti, Vagn Wheel-Drifter, Kurt, Haydis, Kare, Ingolf, Eysteinn, Vesna, Lata, Kazimir, Hakon, Alvis, Trygve, Magni)
(Note: Vagn Wheel-Drifter's expertise in driving sleds and wagons allows for an additional Extended action every year)
Child Residents: 10
(Asgeirr, Sigurdr, Eyvor, Hallbjorn, Hallotta Kurtsdottir, Steinulfr, Asveig, Milan, Mira, Digvaldir Kurtsson)
Other Residents (Horses and other standout creatures, plus magical folk): 4
-Morningsilver (Superior Mare, +2/9 Orthstirr and +3 oz silver a year), Sundancer (Superior Stallion, +2/9 Orthstirr, and +3 oz silver a year), Bjorney (Adorable Bear), Scarecrow (A magical murder puppet turned famhand, +1 Work per turn)
-Construction Note: Tournament Grounds at 3/10
Storage Capacity: 0/320 Free
Food Supply: 322
Taxes: 6oz Silver a Year
0~0~0
## The Wavedancer
The Wavedancer is a 60-foot long snekkja, which is a type of longship. It has 22 rowing benches, room for 45 vikingar, and 4500 units of cargo space. It is built for deeper seas than the Danish or Swedish variants.
Cargo Capacity: 4500/4500 Free
## Eric's Wedding Present
A faering that Eric gave you as a belated wedding gift. It's rather fancy, with silver inlay dancing across the wood. It's well-loved and well-used, but it's yours now. It can fit a maximum of eight people in it and also has a sail.
As you learn more about the world, this will be updated to include new knowledge.
(Last Updated: Summer 8/Turn 1)
(Farming is Back, baby)
Dictionary/Glossary of Norse Words
Note: These are, in many cases, very rough translations.
Hamr - 'Body'
Hugr - 'Mind'
-Hugareida - 'Dao'/'Insights into reality'
-Seidr - 'Magic'
Fylgja - 'You, but as a magical creature that tells you that bad things are about to happen'
Hamingja - 'Luck and talent'
Draugr - 'The dead that don't stay that way'
Orthstirr - 'Word-Glory'. It's the Norse version of Qi, essentially.
Frami - 'Fame'
Virthing - 'Worth'
Saemd - 'Prestige'
Nid - 'Shame'. This permanently removes Orthstirr.
Drengskapr - 'Good Actions'. This adds to your Orthstirr gain. Also adds to people giving you discounts and the like.
Odrengskapr - 'Bad Actions'. This subtracts to your Orthstirr gain. Also subtracts from people giving you discounts and the like.
Konungr - 'King'
Jarl - 'Earl'/'Person who bosses people around'
Karl - 'Freeman, but not a Freedman, that would be a Thrall who was freed, there's a difference, you see'
Thrall - 'Slave'
Karve - 'Smallest type of ship used for war'
Orthstirr
Orthstirr must be put into hamr, hugr, and/or fylgja in order to use them beyond the baseline. The rank of the stat dictates how much orthstirr can be put into it. Each point of orthstirr put into a stat gives you a d6. You get a baseline 1d6 for each stat, without having to put orthstirr into it.
Orthstirr can be put into stats at will, but requires a degree of focus to take out. This is a non-issue outside of high-stress environments, but means that, for example, you will have to stick with the balance you've stricken when in combat. I recommend holding onto a small portion of orthstirr as a reserve just in case something happens in combat.
Certain things have an orthstirr price, like magic and other special abilities or items, that must be paid in order to use them.
Gaining Orthstirr
In order to gain orthstirr, two things must happen. First, you must do something worth commending. Second, word must spread of your deeds.
The more impressive the accomplishment, the more orthstirr you get. The more people who hear about your actions, the more orthstirr you get as well. Writing and reciting poetry about your feats is a good way of spreading the word, though some may look poorly on you reciting poetry praising yourself.
If something is found to be a lie, you could very well be branded *nidingr*, which would severely damage your orthstirr, perhaps irreparably so. I would not recommend lying when it comes to your feats.
Orthstirr Planning
At a base level, all your stats have a single d6. By putting orthstirr into a stat, you can get extra d6 up to the dice max, which is upgraded through training. You may have noticed that this wasn't the case this turn, this is because you didn't have an option to assign orthstirr last turn and I didn't think it was fair to restrict you based on my mistake.
You have two points of orthstirr right now, meaning that you can put a point into, for example, hamr and one into hugr. This means that instead of rolling 1d6 for both of them, you roll 2d6.
You can also spend orthstirr on your skills and tricks. In order for tricks to be usable, (except for combat tricks, as you get an opportunity to mess around with that stuff before the fighting begins) you have to have put orthstirr into them during this planning period.
You cannot put orthstirr into hamingja, it simply is.
Frami, Virthing, and Saemd
Stoking your frami, virthing, and/or saemd lets you get a small boost of power equal to one third of your base orthstirr supply. You could stoke them all at once to, essentially, double your orthstirr supply or you could use them sparingly, only when you need to.
They can generally only be used in battles or encounters, to give yourself a bit of an extra boost, and can alternatively be used to provide full healing of all current wounds, though they will return at the end of battle. Outside of combat, they can also be stoked for +1 success each on a non-combat roll. Once they're used, they can't be used again until you recover, which takes a bit of time.
Stoking an aspect also reveals it, which has visual effects depending on the Aspect. Frami appears as an (often elemental) aura, and reveals whether they are a berserk and how much Orthstirr they have (though the latter can be concealed). Virthing takes the form of a cloak and reveals the history and skills of the bearer in symbolic terms, along with things like their fylgja and often people who are important to them. Saemd takes the form of a crown or other headwear and symbolically reveals hugareida and all family connections (though the latter often show up in Virthing as well).
Reputation
Through your actions and the reaction the community has towards them, you gain points in either drengskapr or odrengskapr, depending on if you did good or bad. The higher of the two is how you are regarded by the community at large, though individuals can still think of you differently. Having higher drengskapr means that people will be more inclined to help you out and to offer you things at reduced prices. Having higher odrengskapr means that people will be more inclined towards trying to hinder you or even may straight up try to kill you.
Dice, Training, and Stats
On the d6, fives and sixes are positive, threes and fours are neutral, and ones and twos are negative. Neutral outcomes are successes while positive outcomes are super successes. Only negative outcomes are failures. The more successes you have, the better the result will be and vis versa.
If you have more negative results than neutral or positive, then it's a failure. With more neutral results, you get what you want and no more and no less. With more positive results you will get what you want and more, which will always be a good thing. You can't oversucceed on something nor can you 'super fail'.
Hamingja and Training
Hamingja is rolled when potentially lucky (or unlucky) things could happen. In this instance, neutral results are not counted as successes, they are simply neutral. Hamingja can also be spent to negate bad outcomes, but I do not recommend doing this very often as it is difficult to gain hamingja and relatively easy to lose it. It also determines the base amount of xp available for training per turn.
Interacting with people or things with bad hamingja for extended periods of time can result in the bad hamingja rubbing off on you. This also works with good hamingja, meaning that if you spend time around lucky people or things, you'll get luckier. If you spend time around unlucky people or things, then you'll get unluckier.
Each time you rank up in a stat, the experience points required to rank up doubles. Each rank up also expands the size of the dice pool, as long as you have the orthstirr to supply it. While this may seem daunting, do note that you can get items and help to speed things along. Unless you got straight failures across the board,
Stats have broad application, but can be further honed to add additional dice to your pools. This also allows the usage of special skills and techniques, called 'tricks'.
Training
Training Dice have become unwieldy and been replaced by xp, which is still provided by Training and assigned by plan. The base amount is provided by Hamingja, as discussed above, but added to by people's help and some Training Items.
Training Items are worth a specific note, with there being two varieties available. Most specify a Skill or Trait and double any xp invested into that Trait and Tricks directly associated with it. No number of Items may add to training a specific Skill or Trait more than once in this way. Additionally, up to one Item may provide a flat bonus to Training XP per turn, using whichever such item is highest.
An example of this in plan format is;
[X] (Training) Hamr
-[X] Chop 1xp
-[X] Glima 1xp
[X] (Training) Hugr
-[X] Hugr itself 1xp
-[X] Silver-Tongue 1xp
Hamr
Hamr is your body. Each rank in hamr allows you to put one more point of orthstirr into it. The rank also corresponds to how many times you need to fail in a fight in order to lose said fight.
Losing fights does not mean death, not always. In a raid or other type of combat, it would mean death (if you rolled poorly on the hamingja check, that is). Fortunately, while death might be the end of your character, it is not the end of the quest so long as you have children to pick up the torch and carry on your legacy.
Hamr is most often used in combat situations, but is also used whenever physical actions are taken, such as in farming or other laborious activities.
Shapeshifting
You have 'slots' for shapeshifting and every further hamr rank up gives you an extra slot. You also retroactively get a slot from reaching Hamr 4, as well as Hamr Infusion 3. You can swap out slots during turn-planning/combat downtime/whenever I give you an opportunity to.
Your fylgja, since it's at Infusion Rank 3, has also unlocked a shapeshifting slot of its own.
Shapeshifting powers stack, as well.
-Thickened Skin (1 Slot) - Reduces incoming damage by 1
-Dense Muscles (1 Slot) - Increases outgoing melee damage by 1
-Target-Tracking Eyes (1 Slot) - Increases outgoing ranged damage by 1
-Offensive-Tuned Reflexes (1 Slot) - Increases dice rolled for attacks (basic and trick) by 1
-Defensive-Tuned Reflexes (1 Slot) - Increases dice rolled for defend (basic and trick) by 1
-Sharpened Senses (1 Slot) - Doubles 'sensing' rolls, such as trying to detect something via sight or smell.
-Softened Steps (1 Slot) - Doubles 'stealth' rolls.
-Ambidextrous Hands (1 Slot) - Allows simultaneous use of two weapons at once
-Counter-Tuned Reflexes (1 Slot) - When you tie while defending, you deal 1 damage to your opponent.
-Supported Grip (1 Slot) - Allows two-handed weapons to be effectively used in one hand.
-High-Twitch Muscles (1 Slot) - Increases attack-speed by 1
-Broad Frame (1 Slot) - Increases enemy morale loss
-Extensible Joints (1 Slot) - Allows joints to bend further, adds +1 Initiative
-Fast Creation (1 Slot) - Creates a Fast in your body, which can be used to store up to 3 things. Some examples are Frenzy (1 Fast for 3 Frenzy), pre-fueled tricks, or things like extra weapons, replacement shields, or any manner of tools/items.
-Adrenaline Rush (1 Slot) - Increases dice rolled for Hamr rolls in combat by 2
-Elasticized Limbs (1 Slot) - Allows you to stretch your limbs in an unnatural way to reach distant targets, you can grab distant objects and it also increases the range of melee attacks, adds +1 Initiative
-Increased Lung Capacity (1 Slot) - Allows you to hold your breath much longer, granting +1 Speed
-Secondary Heart (1 Slot) - Allows for survival on 0 Endurance for one turn
-Strengthened Bone Structure (1 Slot) - Makes it more difficult to amputate limbs or stun you
-Improved Attractiveness (1 Slot) - Makes you more attractive, providing +1d6 to Silver-Tongue checks per slot, more than 2 slots of this becomes obvious to those who know you
-Improved Liver (1 Slot) - Grants resistance to poisons and toxins
-Improved Intestinal Bacterial Fauna (1 Slot) - Makes the digestion of food faster and allows you to eat most things
-Improved Immune System (1 Slot) - Gives greater resistance to diseases by speeding up your immune system's ability to adapt
-Reduced Sleep (1 Slot) - Reduced need for sleep allows one free Research per turn per slot up to the normal maximum
Hugr
Hugr is your mind. Each rank in hugr allows you to put one more point of orthstirr into it. The rank also corresponds to how many different spells or muna you can have readied for sudden usage.
Hugr is most often used in more relaxed situations, like when composing poetry or talking to someone. Any time that you would have to think on something, hugr is used.
Muna and Hugareida
Muna are, essentially, snapshots of events that you'll remember forever. Hugareida are your understanding of how concepts and the world works. Essentially, they're pseudo-Dao.
All hugareida comes from muna, but not all muna gives hugareida, savvy?
Some muna gives hugareida while some give special unique abilities or just a load of orthstirr should you tap it. Some give boons, some give flaws. Some even act as 'power ups' which you trigger by feeding orthstirr into them. You only get the effects of a muna when you have it readied.
Flaw Muna, however, force you to keep them readied so not only do they give you a flaw, they *also* take up some of your capacity. Not cool, Flaw Muna, not cool.
In order to use hugareida, you need to have a hand free. So if you're planning on battlemaging it up, you're gonna have to get good at defending with only a weapon or, I suppose, a shield. You could also store and use hugareida tricks in your fylgja, should yours be unveiled.
You can only raise your hugareida's grade through going on adventures and deepening your understanding of the hugareida in question. Raising your hugareida's grade means that you get more free dice when using it, double the previous amount. Higher level hugareida hard-counter lower level hugareida. If someone has Ignition 5 and they go up against a person with Ignition 6, then their Ignition-based attacks will do nothing against them—unless the attacks are, for whatever reason, allowed to go through.
Grade I Hugareida get 1d6
Grade II Hugareida get 3d6
Grade III Hugareida get 5d6
Grade IV Hugareida get 7d6
Grade V Hugareida get 9d6 and so on and so forth
Fylgja
Your fylgja (fylgjur in the plural) is your spiritual animal companion. They are intrinsically linked to you, so much so that if they die, you die, and vis versa. They are often invisible, even to those with enhanced sight, and spend their days trying to help you as best they can.
It is often thought that seeing your own fylgja is a sign that death is coming for you, but this is not always the case. A person with a strong bond with their fylgja can unveil them and utilize them more actively, rather than the somewhat passive normal helping that fylgjur typically do.
Managing Land
(The credit goes to @DeadmanwalkingXI for making this one for me, I just made some minor wording changes and cleaned things up a little bit)
You have a pool of Work Dice ((Management+Labor+Farmwork+Equipment) = Work Dice Pool (Also including the dice gained through farmhands and other residents)) which are assigned out to fuel the various ratings of your farm. If you do not assign them to the various ratings, then they do not produce anything as they were left neglected. The maximum amount of Work Dice that you can assign per rating is determined by that rating's number.
There are three parts to every farm, each with a base quality rating and three 'sub-ratings' that build off from that.
Buildings - Your actual farm buildings and the bonuses they provide. Requires Goods upkeep equal to Quality Rating per turn.
-Living Space determines how many people and animal herds can live here.
(Quality Rating + Living Space Rating) x2 = Maximum Living Capacity
-Storage determines how much room you have to store bundles of Food and Goods.
(Quality Rating + Storage Rating) x10 = Maximum Storage Capacity
-Workshop determines bonuses to Crafting as well as the categories that the bonuses apply to — which depend on the various upgrades built.
Quality Rating = Number of Crafts that receive bonus. (1 + Workshop Rating) = Crafting Bonus
Resources - The fields, forests, and other portions of your land that you are actually taking advantage of, and what they provide
-Food (Resource) determines how many people and animal herds you can keep reliably fed
(Resource Rating + Food Rating) = Food Supply Gained per Turn
-Goods determines the many various goods that are produced on your property like furniture and animal hides.
(Resource Rating + Good Rating) = Goods Supply Gained per Turn
-Silver determines how much Silver is made by the various resources on your property. At the end of the year, taxes are subtracted from the total amount earned.
(Silver Rating) = Silver Gained per Turn (in half-ounces)
Livestock - Your livestock and the benefits they provide, which cannot be higher than Resource's Food Supply Production
-Food (Livestock) determines how many people you can keep reliably fed. If you are unable to keep your Livestock fed through Food (Resource), then the difference is taken from here.
(Food (Livestock)) = Food Supply (People) Gained per Turn
-Goods determines the various goods that are produced via your animals, like wool cloth and leather.
(Livestock Quality + Good Rating) = Good Supply Gained per Turn
-Silver determines how much Silver is made from stud fees, selling individual animals, and so on. At the end of the year, taxes are subtracted from the total amount earned.
(Livestock Quality + Silver Rating) = Silver Gained per Turn (in half-ounces)
You may also use Training Dice in lieu of Work Dice, if you are struggling to make ends meet. You cannot do the reverse. However, you may use Work Dice as Research Dice at an exchange rate of 2 Work Dice for 1 Research Dice.
You may also use Goods as Silver (1 Good=1 Half-Ounce of Silver).
Turns, the Passage of Time, and Combat
For the Norse, the year had two parts. There was summer and there was winter. Your age was determined by how many winters you had survived.
You have three turns per season, for six turns in a year. Summer was a time for both planting and plunder while winter was a time for harvesting and... well, more farming. The Norse were an agricultural people, what can I say?
Sometimes, depending on the circumstances, a turn might be extended over multiple postings, like if you were going on a viking or if you were visiting somewhere.
You will have a series of actions available to you every turn, though some are limited by season and how far along in that season you are. You have three categories of actions, which you can pick one of each from. The categories are Seasonal, Personal, and Training.
Seasonal actions are actions that happen during certain seasons and certain turns within those seasons.
Examples of this are;
[ ] Early Summer - Move the animals to the high land
[ ] Mid Winter - Attend a feast
[ ] Late Winter - Watch the ships as they prepare for the freeze
Personal actions are actions that you decide to do on your own time, with friends or family. They aren't always the same as things change over time. While they aren't explicitly meant to train your stats, a sufficiently successful roll can have an impact on that.
Examples of this are;
[ ] Social - Talk to Mother
[ ] Exploration - Take a wander in the woods
[ ] Combative - Start a fight with one of the village boys
Training actions are actions that involve you training some aspect of yourself. Training skills will have the governing stat and then the governed skill in parenthesis while stat training will only have the stat by itself. Eventually, you will find that you aren't noticing much in the way of improvement, meaning that you need to find either somebody to teach you or something to assist you.
Examples of this are;
[ ] Hamr (Wrestling) - Practice your wrestling throws
[ ] Hugr (Poet) - Practice your skaldic poetry
[ ] Hamr - Run around the farm
Every turn there will be a random event, determined by rolling a d6. Most often nothing happens (results 2-5), but sometimes good things happen (result 6) and sometimes bad things happen (result 1). This is affected by your hamingja (forces bad and neutral results to reroll a number of times equal to your hamingja).
Combat
Combat works thusly; you have a pool of dice (gained through putting orthstirr into hamr (and hugr, if utilizing magic) and your skills. You also get dice from equipment) that you divvy out amongst offensive, defensive, and trick options.
Tricks always have a cost attached to them, which is paid using the orthstirr you hold in reserve. You don't so much use a trick as you tap it to be used automatically by your character. You can use more orthstirr than is required, which gives you additional dice for that action.
Lets say you have a combat pool of 12 dice, plus 8 orthstirr held in reserve. A basic plan might look something like this;
[X] Plan name
-[X] 3d6 to Attack (This means that you'll make three attacks, each with 1d6)
-[X] 5d6 to Defense (This means that you'll be able to defend yourself five times, each with 1d6, before your defenses are overwhelmed)
-[X] 1d6 to Intercept (Intercepting means that, should you see something happening to an ally, you try to stop it)
-[X] 1d6 to Trick1 (3 Orr (shorthand for orthstirr))
-[X] 2d6 to Trick2 (5 Orr) (You can dedicate multiple dice to a trick, though it will still only be used once. The same trick can be used multiple times, though you have to make another line for it.)
-[X] (optional write in) General tactics. No need for a blow-by-blow, just give me the basics. This is simply for flavor so I know the vibe you're going for. If you want to pick something up or any other option, or putting more orthstirr into a stat or skill, you say so here.
Dice dedicated to Attack go up against the dice dedicated to Defense by the enemy and vis versa. Winning the contest means you deal Endurance damage to your opponent. NPCs can take multiple points of Endurance damage in a single round while PCs can only take a maximum of 1 Endurance per round (with the exception of certain Tricks). Your defenses being overwhelmed means that you take a point of Endurance damage.
When an opportunity presents itself, the readied Trick is used, which uses all the dice assigned to it (including orthstirr cost and any boosting) in a single attack or defense. Tricks can either be defensive or offensive, sometimes both. When an offensive Trick is used, the only thing that can counter it is a defensive Trick or through sacrificing your shield.
Shields have a certain amount of hits they can take before they're broken. You can sacrifice your shield to save you from a Trick. Shields are automatically replenished the next turn in a season.
While I would not recommend burning through all of your reserve orthstirr in a single round, you could definitely do it.
At the end of every round, the combat pool is refreshed. Spent orthstirr, however, is only regained at the end of combat.
Also at the end of every round, you make a hugr roll to see if you can glean any insight into what they're planning next. This isn't going to be a perfect breakdown of dice usage (not unless you get an absolutely crazy roll) but it will tell you how they're going to act in the next round. Who they're focusing on, defense or offensive priority, or if they're readying a lot of tricks. Things like that.
Death and Continuing On
Eventually, you will die. It is simply a fact of life. However, your death is not the end of the quest. The quest only ends if you die without having any children.
When you die, you do not start over from square one. Your hamingja and a portion of your orthstirr is passed on to the character you decide to continue on with, which is added to whatever amount they might have in that moment. While your stats might be reset, you don't lose out completely.
They also will have access to your old stuff, of course, after its been divvied up amongst your children.
One thing to note is that you do need children if you want to continue on after death, meaning that you're going to have to, gulp, talk to people. The horror!
Or you can just have your parents arrange it for you, if you're a woman. If you're a man, well, looks like you're gonna have to pull up your pants and get to work.
Children
Once you are married (or not, depending on how attractive the people of wherever place you are find you), a random positive event can fire every two or more years that results in a pregnancy.
Hamingja, plus the hamr of the parents alongside Personal actions involving certain things, determines if the baby survives birth. After that, it's up to you and the spouse (plus anyone hired or 'hired' to help) to care for it until it's four years old.
Once you die, you pick your next character from your living children. Passing on Traits
When a child is born, the traits of both parents are pooled together to form the Trait Pool. Hamingja can be spent to lock in or lock out traits that you definitely do want or definitely don't want. The rarer/more powerful a trait is, the more hamingja it costs.
After that, each trait is rolled for to see if it gets passed on or not. If both parents have a trait, then the trait gets three chances to be passed on.
Certain special traits are automatically locked in, like if one of the parents was a supernatural entity or had a certain charred soul.
Types of Death
There are two types of dying in NorseQuest; Bodily and True.
Bodily Death is exactly as it sounds, the body dies, but the soul yet lives. If you are killed in a battle and your orthstirr hasn't left your body, then you are merely bodily dead and not truly. If you are bodily dead, then you can be brought back to life.
True Death is also exactly as it sounds. The body dies and so too does the soul. True death is the death you suffer on your Fated Day. There is no way of avoiding your Fated Day. Flat out.
The year, by the reckoning of the followers of Christ, is 8970 AD and you, Halla Steinarsdottir, have just turned twelve.
"Dad!" Your beloved father, Steinarr Hallsson, pauses putting his cloak on as he hears your indignant outcry. He slowly turns around, his face a mask of red hairs and bushy eyebrows.
"Yes, Halla?" He asks like he doesn't know why you're stopping him.
"You said that I could help with the sheep if I finished my needlebinding!"
"Did she?" His eyes flick to where your belabored mother, Asveig Rovisdottir, stirs a pot of melting snow over the hearth fire — the last of winter's kiss. She and Asva, your older sister, look up from their work.
"It's not perfect but..." Asveig sighs, picking at a loose length of yarn in your work. "She did it."
Asva huffs as a broad grin threatens to split your face in two. The two of you have never gotten along, bossy and mean as she is, but not even she can put a damper on your excitement right now.
Steinarr smiles, but you can tell that he's not happy about something. "Well," he begins, "it might be dangerous," your smile widens, "and you might get dirty, but if you're sure you want to..." He trails off as he sees that you've already got a staff in hand and a cloak about the shoulders.
He laughs and ruffles the blazing red hair he gave you. You follow close behind as he exits the longhouse. You stop as you feel the sun on your skin and take a deep breath of the brisk air of the north.
It's good to be alive.
0~0~0
Seasonal:
[ ] The sheep need to be moved to higher ground, so that any potential vikingar coming by don't have as easy as a time getting to them.
[ ] The fields need to be cleared.
[ ] The cows and goats need to be milked.
[ ] The river is full of fish, go set up a net or two.
0~0~0
Personal:
[ ] Stigr says that he's found something weird in the woods, but you and Abjorn aren't certain on that one
[ ] You've heard about the nearby village of Asvir for many years now, but have never been. Lets see if you can't wring a promise out of your father to take you some time
[ ] Ask Randi to tell you some stories
[ ] Pick a fight with...
-[ ] Eric, your older brother
-[ ] One of the local boys
-[ ] Asva (You doubt she'd be willing to fight you, but maybe you can needle her enough?)
[ ] Spend time with... (Write in)
[ ] Go wandering in the...
-[ ] Woods
-[ ] Hills
-[ ] Fields
0~0~0
Training:
[ ] Train your hamr (2 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hamr skill (Write in)
[ ] Train your hugr (2 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hugr skill (Write in)
[ ] What in the heck is a 'fylgja'?
0~0~0
Random Event: (6)
A friendly dog has shown up and seems to like it here.
[ ] Does it want to be friends? (Can be repeated)
[ ] Leave it alone (Can be returned to later)
0~0~0
AN: And so your saga begins. Character sheet has been updated.
I picked 12 as your starting age to 1) give you an ample amount of time before you hit 16 (when you become an adult, if you don't find a way to prove yourself beforehand) and 2) because 12 was the minimum age one had to be to be a judge in Iceland and I thought that it was fitting.
AN: Just to let you know, I've added in the rolls and chosen options as invisitext so as to make it as unobtrusive as possible.
0~0~0 [X]The sheep need to be moved to higher ground, so that any potential vikingar coming by don't have as easy as a time getting to them.
Most of the snow is gone by now, but some straggling patches crunch underneath your shoes as you, Eric, and Steinarr all work together to herd the sheep towards the highland. In a few weeks, you'll be doing this with the cattle and the goats too, but for now you simply enjoy the feeling of wind in your hair as you walk through the hills.
Steinarr stands off to the side, watching over you and Eric as you guide the baa-ing herd along. There are seventeen ewes and six rams in your family's herd, a little over eight ounces of silver. It's not the biggest of herds, but you'd probably start struggling with anything more than that, especially now that Njall was freed by Steinarr. Which means that, unless help can be hired from Asvir or one of the other farms, one of you will be stuck watching over the sheep till late summer.
One of the men, rather. You shudder, for once thankful for your womanhood.
And then you look to your spindly beanpole of an older brother and that brief thankful feeling is dashed yet again. Eric never had the broadest of shoulders and, if he wasn't your brother, you might have described him as fearful. Yet, like always, Steinarr and Eric both carry weapons and shields while you're stuck with a staff. Frankly, it makes you jealous. Why can't you have a weapon?
You scowl and kick up a patch of dirt. A nearby ewe shuffles away nervously.
Because you're a woman. Because you're a girl. Because you're weak.
Because because because.
Honestly, if they'd just let you have a weapon, you'd be fine staying in one of the pasture dwellings. At least then you'd be able to get some practice in without somebody stopping you! (Hamingja: 6) 1 Super-Success
And then a glimmer of something glinting from the ground catches your eye and you pause. Glancing around, you make sure that neither Steinarr nor Eric were looking your way. With the coast clear, you bend over and scoop up the mud-covered object.
Later that day, when the sheep had been moved, you stole away from where Steinarr and Eric were talking and took out the object and a rag. You began to clean and realization lit up your eyes. The more you cleaned, the more it shined until you found yourself in possession of a silver penny, all the way from the Danelaw. A little over half-an-ounce, if you had to make a guess.
Was it dropped by some wandering warrior after the Great Army was disbanded? Was it from a trader? You suppose that it doesn't really matter as its yours now. Your lucky penny. (Hugr: 3, 5) 1 Success
This... this a coin, which is a part of managing finances.
As a woman, it will one day be your job to manage your future family's finances. That includes the buying and selling of things. Things like weapons.
You've had your lessons, you know the value of a sword and you know that it would take a long time to afford one of those. Twelve milk cows, twenty-four ounces of silver, for a sword of middling quality. That's enough silver to buy a herd of sheep three times the size of your family's!
An axe or spear or even a sax like Abjorn has, however? You're already a third of the way to affording a spear and a fourth to an axe. Thor's breath, you're halfway to a sax!
Nobody's going to suspect a thing if you buy a weapon. If you can get all the silver yourself, then Steinarr and the rest will never need to know a thing. And they won't be able to take it away from you if you bought it with your own money, because that's thieving. From family no less!
The only other option is taking a weapon from a barrow, but...
Draugar lurk in barrows.
You shudder.
You're not scared, you're not. It's just that... That draugar are simply too much for you right now! You'll raid all the barrows you can find once you're strong, but right now you need to focus on being not-weak.
And this penny is the first step in doing that.
What a lucky find!
(+1 to hamingja for the rest of the year)
0~0~0 [x] Stigr says that he's found something weird in the woods, but you and Abjorn aren't certain on that one
"You're not gonna believe me unless I show it to you," that's what the twelve-year-old had said with spear in hand and shield on back.
With the only other thing to do being helping Asva and Asveig with the cooking, you immediately took Stigr up on his offer. After Stigr renewed his promise to keep you safe — like you couldn't do that yourself — the pair of you set off.
Along the way, you bumped into Abjorn, who'd been gathering firewood. After a short explanation, the large boy agreed to come along and soon you had both of your best friends — both of them carrying an assortment of weapons — on either side of you as you ventured deeper into the woods.
You steadily ignore the sax on Abjorn's belt and the spear leaning against Stigr's shoulder. Soon, you rub the penny between thumb and forefinger, soon you'll have a weapon of your own. It'll only take time, time and money.
Deeper and deeper into the woods you go, far past the firewood trees. Not many people venture this deep into the Hading. But then again, there's not many people around to begin with. If you were one of those stricken with wanderlust, you're sure that your heart would be racing from excitement as you stroll through seldom-trod paths.
"Did Stigr say anything about where we're going?" Abjorn peers into the shadow-filled woods, a meaty hand on his sax and his blue-green painted shield held at the ready. He's only thirteen years-old yet he already stands taller and broader than your father, who is not a small man by any means. That's probably part of why he's allowed to be by himself all the time.
"No, for once he's keeping his mouth shut." You grumble as you step over a twig that would've gotten caught in your dress. Oh how you wish for pants.
"The gods finally answer my prayers and it's to spite me."
Stigr rolls his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yak it up. You'll be changing your tune once you see what I've found!"
"What were you even doing back here, anyways?" You quirk a brow as Stigr shrugs unconvincingly.
"Oh, well, I was..." He trails off, searching around for a convenient excuse. "Y'know, it really doesn't matter why I was back here."
"Stigandr," Abjorn's deep voice carries a stern warning, "every step we take leads us deeper into the Hading. It isn't safe here."
"Maybe not for you, but I'm safe no matter where I go!" Stigr responds with a level of bravado common in boys his age.
"It's not safe for Halla."
You stifle a curse by clenching your jaw, the bickering boys failing to realize that you've fallen half-a-step behind. Sighing, you let it go and relax your jaw before catching up. Abjorn didn't mean anything by it, he's just thinking of the promises he made to keep you safe. That's all.
Besides, he's not entirely incorrect, as much as it may pain you to admit. You don't have a weapon, nor have you had the near-daily training that all the boys get. Not that you've ever been invited to the practice battles that the local boys put together every once in a while, but that's never stopped you from watching Abjorn lay waste nor from cheering Stigr on during archery contests — Stigr's probably one of the best shots in the entire valley!
"But, if you must know, I was chasing a valkyrja," Stigr eventually admits, his voice drawing you back to the present.
Abjorn blinks, long and slow. "A valkyrja. The choosers of the slain."
"She was in the form of a raven!"
"And how would you know that?"
"She spoke to me, that's how."
You shake your head as Abjorn simply keeps staring at Stigr. He lets out a heavy sigh and lets it go.
"Sure, whatever you say." He takes another long look into the forest. "How far is it to wherever you're leading us? Surely you can tell us that much."
"Why would I need to tell you anything," you squint at the smirking boy as he stops walking, "when I can show you right now!"
You and Abjorn share a look as Stigr gestures at an old, dried up riverbed. Tree roots diving in and out keep the riverbed from collapsing in on itself. (Hamr: 2) Failure
"Are we supposed to be impressed?" You frown, not seeing anything of note in the riverbed.
"There." Abjorn points at a part in the river, one covered in thick roots and leafy branches. Wait, leafy branches? From where?
"Oh," you say as realization dawns. No plant grew that way, the branches were put there, by someone wanting to hide something.
"I found this little number while I was following that valkyrja," Stigr says as he hops down. He pulls back the branches, revealing a shallow, empty dugout. "I don't know who made this, but they haven't been back since I've started watching it." (Hugr: 3, 4) 2 Successes
You climb down after Stigr, Abjorn close behind. There's a frown on your face as you think back to when you tried to make a hideout with leaves and sticks. It hadn't lasted long before the leaves turned brown and ruined the hideaway.
"How long did you say you had been watching, again?" The frown deepens as you rub a green leaf between thumb and forefinger.
"Couple weeks, why?" Stigr's grin falls away from his face as he sees the look on your own. "Halla? Is something wrong?"
Your lips thin, the leaf falling from your hand. "These are fresh, Stigr. Two days old at most."
"Oh."
You, Stigr, and Abjorn all know what this means; there's an outlaw in the Hading Woods.
Why else would someone build such a hideout if they didn't expect to need it soon? Hiding is a coward's act. A real man stands out in the open and lets the world know his deeds. That's what Steinarr said when found your hideout.
This... could be an opportunity.
(Mysterious Hideout added to Journal)
0~0~0 (Hamr Training: 1, 6, 5) 2 Successes and 1 Failure
You've been running around the farm every day for the past few months in an attempt to improve your hamr.
When you started, your lungs burned and struggled for air, not used to this level of effort. Daggers stabbed into your side and your legs ached.
But now?
You run wild and free, wind kissing your laughing face as you run your fifth lap around the farm in half-as-many minutes.
(Hamr Rank Up. Endurance Increased. 4 Successes till next Rank Up)
0~0~0 Does it want to be friends? (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 1, 1, 3) 2 Failures, 1 Success
The dog — puppy, really — is a shaggy brown thing with patchy, matted fur. It's small, likely the runt of the litter that somehow managed to survive. It lays in the shadow of the smithy, its body pressed up tight against the wall as it stares suspiciously at the world around it.
You've been thinking about it since it arrived. You've seen how thin it is, the ribs visible through the skin. So you've brought it some dried meat from the storehouse (which you'll replace with some fish).
It growls as you get close, so you stop and carefully, slowly, set the small bundle of meat on the ground. After unwrapping it, you slowly back away and watch as the dog sniffs the air.
It doesn't seem to take the hint and lays its head back down.
You frown, looks like you'll have to try again, on your own time.
0~0~0
Seasonal:
[ ] (Seasonal) You've run out of the firewood from last winter, time to go get some more.
[ ] (Seasonal) The fields need to be furrowed and seeded.
[ ] (Seasonal) Check and reset the animal traps.
[ ] (Seasonal) Help out with the animals.
0~0~0
Personal:
[ ] (Mysterious Hideout) That hideout has you concerned. What will you do about it?
-[ ] Tell your father and let him handle it
-[ ] See if there's any tracks nearby
-[ ] Search for more hideouts in the Hading
-[ ] Try an ambush
[ ] (Dog) Try to win the dog's trust
[ ] (Personal) You've heard about the nearby village of Asvir for many years now, but have never been. Lets see if you can't wring a promise out of your father to take you some time.
[ ] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
[ ] (Personal) Pick a fight or spar with...
-[ ] Eric, your older brother
-[ ] One of the local boys (Optional Write In)
-[ ] Asva (You doubt she'd be willing to fight you, but maybe you can needle her enough?)
[ ] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
0~0~0
Training: You have 3d6 training dice to spend as you see fit.
[ ] (Training) Hamr (4 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hamr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) Hugr (2 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hugr skill or trick (Write in)
[ ] (Training) What in the heck is a 'fylgja'?
0~0~0
Orthstirr Available: 2
How do you want to use your orthstirr?
[ ] (Orthstirr Usage) (Write in)
0~0~0
Random Event: (1, 1st Reroll: 6)
Under a cloudy night sky, a bundled up wanderer knocks on the door to your longhouse. Steinarr opens the door and welcomes him into his home. He offers the traveler a change of clothes, a warm meal, and a place to stay the night.
The wanderer is so wowed by Steinarr's hospitality that, when he made his goodbyes the next morning, he promised to spread the word of Steinarr and his family's generosity.
(+1 orthstirr)
0~0~0
AN: I've added in a planning section for how you want to use your orthstirr for the next turn. You get spent orthstirr back at the end of the turn.
Also, please vote by plan in the future. It just makes things easier.
Also also, there will be an hour-and-a-half moratorium before voting is opened, so as to let you think properly and to make your cases.
Both of these will be added to the mechanics page. Please feel free to ask for clarification or any other questions you may have.
At a base level, all your stats have a single d6. By putting orthstirr into a stat, you can get extra d6 up to the dice max, which is upgraded through training. You may have noticed that this wasn't the case this turn, this is because you didn't have an option to assign orthstirr last turn and I didn't think it was fair to restrict you based on my mistake.
You have two points of orthstirr right now, meaning that you can put a point into, for example, hamr and one into hugr. This means that instead of rolling 1d6 for both of them, you roll 2d6.
You can also spend orthstirr on your skills and tricks. In order for tricks to be usable, (except for combat tricks, as you get an opportunity to mess around with that stuff before the fighting begins) you have to have put orthstirr into them during this planning period.
You cannot put orthstirr into hamingja, it simply is.
I realized that having you train one thing at a time wasn't exactly the most fair thing to do. Also, I just wasn't very happy with how I implemented it.
From now on, you will be able to assign the dice from your training dice pool as you see fit.
For example, with 3d6 training dice you can now put 1d6 into your hamr, 1d6 into Glima, and 1d6 into your hugr, all in one turn. Or any other combination you can think of.
An example of this in plan format is;
[X] (Training) 1d6 Hamr
-[X] 1d6 Glima
[X] (Training) 1d6 Hugr
Being an outlaw in Norse society means that you are no longer protected by the law. Anyone is allowed to come and try to kill you, whenever, wherever, with no repercussions. Killing an outlaw is always an honorable act and will earn you orthstirr.
The Norse were quite proficient in warfare, especially the lightning-quick style of their raids. However, what they would call an ambush and what we would call an ambush aren't as similar as you might expect.
A modern day ambush is where you hide away and lie in wait for the enemy to appear. Then launch a quick and sudden strike into their lines, causing as much chaos as possible before disappearing into the night, or hills, or forests, or wherever you are.
A Norse ambush, on the other hand, is a far more straight forward affair. The main difference between murder and killing is that murder is done in secret and isn't owned up to while killing is done in the open and no attempt is made to hide it. As such, the Norse practiced ambushing in a much different way to how we do it today.
First, they send spies to scout out a path their target takes regularly. Spies can take the form of thralls, warriors, wanderers, old women, all kinds of forms. The spies not only track movement, but also how many men the target has with him and how good they are. This is so that the ambushers can gather more and/or better fighters than the target.
Next, the ambushers gather together and stand around a place they know the target will be. They don't make any attempt to hide themselves, for such a thing would be cowardice. Oftentimes the ambushees would spot the ambushers and a chase would begin as the ambushees try to move to better fighting ground while the ambushers try to stop them. Sometimes the ambushees would decide to just go ahead and fight the ambushers anyways, even in poor ground.
Norse ambushes were less a matter of sudden surprise and more a matter of outnumbering your opponent when they least expected it. You want to massively outnumber your enemy if you can. Sometimes, ambushes would be called off if the ambushers saw that the ambushees had more men than expected, even if the ambushers still outnumbered them.
0~0~0
I've decided to start talking about different aspects of Norse culture so that you can make more and better informed decisions. Please feel free to ask questions and I shall answer them to the best of my ability.
[X] Plan Dog time
-[X] (Seasonal) Check and reset the animal traps.
-[X] (Dog) Try to win the dogs trust
-[X] (Training) 2d6 Hugr
-[X] (Training) What in the heck is a 'fylgja'?
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage) 2 to Hugr
0~0~0 (Traps: 1, reroll: 2, reroll: 1) (Timing: 5)
"Eric?" Your brother's lips press into thin slivers, his bushy red eyebrows creating a trench on his forehead. "Those aren't animal tracks, are they?"
"No," Eric replies, kneeling beside the shoeprints in the forest floor, "no they're not."
The rabbit snares had been sprung, alright. But the animals hadn't been retrieved by any of your family.
Which meant that someone else got here first. Which means that they stole from your family.
Frankly, your blood boils at the thought of that. Eric's too, if the way his spear creaks in his grip means anything.
While the loss of the rabbits wouldn't starve your family, it does mean that you might have to butcher a sheep or a goat, or even a cow to make up for the loss. And if the harvest goes poorly... then you all might have to tighten your belts come winter.
A single cow can be the only difference between life and death.
So how dare someone try and steal that from you.
"The tracks are fresh, he's still nearby," Eric says as he rises to his feet. "Go find father; I'll look for the thief here." (Hugr: 6, 5, 4) 3 Successes
There's a determined look in his eye as he checks the straps on his shield and makes certain his boots and belt are firm. He doesn't intend to just look for the thief, you know your brother well enough for that.
Timid he may be, but when push comes to shove he's always there, ready and waiting.
Eric breathes in, centering himself in the here and now. The hair on the back of your neck stands tall as your own breathing quickens.
Orthstirr swirls around Eric's body, forming itself into a cloak of wind-filled sailcloth and a crown of blazing red fire.
Eric breathes out and the display of orthstirr leaves with it.
You blink, heartrate and breathing returning to normal.
Maybe it's the way the wind changes as he readies himself. Maybe it's the smell of fresh rain springing up around you. Maybe it's the way the light dims and shadows lengthen. Maybe it's the way that the carrion-birds begin crowing as Eric looks to the woods.
Whatever the reason, you hesitate and linger.
What do you?
[ ] Do as he says and find Steinarr. He should be gathering firewood close by. (Medium Hamr (Overland))
[ ] Demand that he come with you to Steinarr. (Easy Hugr (Silver-Tongue))
[ ] Try to convince him to let you go with him. (Hard Hugr (Silver-Tongue))
[ ] (Unlocked: Bold) Disregard his instructions and follow along, at a distance. (No Check)
0~0~0
AN: Overland corresponds to your ability to move over land quickly and efficiently.
And here we have the first 'encounter' of the saga. How will our heroine respond?
Should combat happen, you'll be given an opportunity to re-assign orthstirr, though it will cost you a round in combat.
25 minute moratorium.
Here's a peek at Eric's character sheet after he stoked his orthstirr, to help you make an informed decision on what to do.
Armed With:
Hide-Rim Shield (Left Hand)
Iron Spear (Right Hand)
Neck-Knife (Hanging from the neck)
Armored In:
Brown Hat
Green Tunic
Brown Pants
Leather-wrapped Shoes
Hamr 3 (2/3 Dice Available):
Spear 4 (2/4 Dice Available)
-Recall Trick (Cost 1): A basic trick that recalls a thrown, discarded, or otherwise lost spear back to you.
-Spear-Foot Trick (Cost 1): Delivers a stab to the foot, aiming to, if not disable, throw the enemy off-balance.
-Swap-Throw Trick (Cost 1): A sudden, surprising throw distracts the enemy, letting the user quickly pull out another weapon.
-Stomp-Throw Trick (Cost 2): A powerful stomp lends the thrown spear great force, letting it punch through unenhanced shields while also disabling enhanced shields.
-Long-Lunge Trick (Cost 2): A lunging stab that seems to cause the spear to lengthen, granting extended range to the attack.
0~0~0
Glima 2 (1/2 Dice Available)
-Toe-Stomp Trick (Cost 1): A stomp to the toes to break concentration and then a throw to the ground with a pin.
-Knee-Groin Trick (Cost 1): A knee to the groin brings the enemy down, followed by a pin.
0~0~0
Knife 1 (0/1 Dice Available)
-Pin-Stab Trick (Cost 1): A sudden stab to the neck, free and automatically used if pinning.
0~0~0
Shield 2 (1/2 Dice Available)
-Shield-Strength Trick I (Cost 1): The first rank of Shield-Strength, which strengthens the shield and lets it survive more attacks.
-Recall Trick (Cost 1): A basic trick that recalls a thrown, discarded, or otherwise lost shield back to you.
Hugr 5 (1/5 Dice Available):
Hugareidr: Wind 1 (1/1 Dice Available)
-(Readied) Cutting-Gust Trick (Cost 3): Shapes a gust of wind into a cutting edge before directing it at the target.
[X] Plan Dog time
-[X] (Seasonal) Check and reset the animal traps.
-[X] (Dog) Try to win the dogs trust
-[X] (Training) 2d6 Hugr
-[X] (Training) What in the heck is a 'fylgja'?
-[X] (Orthstirr Usage) 2 to Hugr
0~0~0 [X]Demand that he come with you to Steinarr. (Easy Hugr (Silver-Tongue))
Eric, like all Norsemen, knows that he will one day meet his fated end, ready or not.
Eric, like many Norsemen, also knows that rushing to meet it is a fool's endeavor. That even if you don't die, you can still suffer a great deal from making a mistake.
Which is why you reckon that you have a good chance of stopping him now. Before his blood makes him do something foolish, something that he'll later regret. (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 6, 6, 5) 3 Super-Successes, 1 Success needed, rewards granted
Eric starts to move and you don't hesitate.
"Eric, wait!" He looks over his shoulder as you call out to him. They say that the eyes are the windows to the soul and when you lock gazes, it's clear as day to how he's feeling. He's conflicted.
Anyone who spent any amount of time with Eric would know that he's not a warrior. Sure, when pushed he's shove, but he's not one to go out looking for violence. Never has, never will. It's simply not in his nature.
He's going after the thief because of the future risk to his family, not out of a desire to extract vengeance for what's been done already. He doesn't want to fight anyone, but he'll do it to keep his family safe.
In your most private of thoughts, you might think less of him for it. But here and now? When you want nothing more than to keep your brother safe?
You couldn't be happier with how his nature guides him.
"Come find dad with me," you hold out your hand, "so we can hunt this thief down together, as a family."
He stares at your hand for a long time, his eyes cloudy with inner turmoil. He's a man, a part of him whispers, he shouldn't be listening to a woman in matters of battle. Yet, his better senses point out as they reassert themselves, there is strength in numbers, especially when fighting an unknown villain.
Reaching out, Eric takes your hand and his eyes clear up. "You are a good sister, Halla. Thank you," he grimaces, eyes glimmering with realized relief, "I fear I would've done something stupid had you not stopped me."
"It's what little sisters are for, Eric."
"Then you must be the wisest of them all."
(+1 Relations with Eric)
(+1 Hamingja for showing wisdom beyond your age)
(+1 to earning Boon: Little Sister's Wisdom. Little Sister's Wisdom added to Incomplete Boons)
0~0~0
Finding Steinarr took no time at all and explaining everything took even less.
He looks down to the wood axe in his hand and frowns. He can't just *leave* such a valuable tool here, not with a thief around, but he also can't just take it with him, he needs both hands to fight.
An idea occurs to him. You can tell by the way he suddenly straightens up, like he sat his bare-bottom on a block of ice.
"Halla," Steinarr begins slowly, "can you please take the axe back home?"
You don't hesitate to agree and he carefully hands you the axe.
"It is very sharp, so don't cut yourself, alright?" You nod, hardly listening as he and Eric begin heading off. "Be careful, and make sure to tell your mother and Asva what we're doing!"
You have an opportunity here, you realize as you clutch the wood axe in hand. It's not a weapon, no, but it could still split a skull if used correctly... As your father is fond of saying, 'an axe is an axe is an axe.'
What do you do?
[ ] Heed your father's instructions and take the axe home
-(Ends the encounter, Steinarr and Eric will both be fine, even if they didn't catch the thief)
[ ] Follow behind them, axe in hand and ready to pounce
-(Proceeds to combat, chance for the thief to have already gotten away)
0~0~0
AN: Weapons add additional dice to your combat dice pool, but wood axes are tools, not weapons though they are still axes. As such, they do not grant you any additional dice.
If you get good at using, for example, improvised weaponry, then you can get weapon dice from non-weapons. There are instances where Norsemen discarded their weapons in favor of grabbing things like sled runners, which sometimes proved to be especially effective, more so than even their actual weapons.
Additional important thing to note, named and important characters won't die 'off-screen' in combat scenarios, with certain exceptions to this rule. On-screen, however, all bets are off.
Follow behind them, axe in hand and ready to pounce. (Timing: 6)
You smell the thief before you spot him, such is the stench of his unwashed body.
You weren't quite quick enough to catch the pre-battle posturing, but you arrive just in time to see the moments immediately following.
You don't recognize the thief, so they weren't a local. He carries a battered-looking shield in one hand and a surprisingly well-cared for axe in the other. Dark eyes glint as they dart about, a frantic, wild look to their movements.
He's looking for a way out, the coward. (Attack: 4 vs Defense: 6, Defender wins)
"Die with dignity, you thieving dog!" Steinarr growls, eyes full of righteous fury as he sees the same as you. His crimson orthstirr whips itself into a frenzy as the thief barely manages to deflect his sword, Crowfeeder — an heirloom passed down through several generations.
The shield holds up, if only just.
"Thieving dog!?" The thief grits his yellow teeth. "I'll show you a thieving dog!" (Attack: 3 vs Defense: 2, Attacker wins. Intercept: 6, Intercepted)
The thief bashes Crowfeeder aside and throws Steinarr off balance. The axe sails straight towards Steinarr's unprotected side, only to catch on Eric's spear as he intercepts the blow.
There's a clatter of wood on wood as the axe meets spear. The axe is nearly wrenched from the thief's hand, only saved by the thief backing off at the perfect moment.
Eric takes a step forward, face a mask of determination, both hands holding the spear as he thrusts. (Attack: 1 vs Defense: 3, Defender wins)
The spear punches through the shield, but stops before making any headway. The thief roars and throws his now broken shield to the side, taking Eric's spear with it.
"That's it!" The thief grips his axe with both hands, his own pale yellow orthstirr climbing up the weapon. "I'm ending this!"
Eric, now weaponless and his own shield dropped on the ground behind him, trips as he backs away. He stumbles to the ground, wide-eyed as the thief advances. The thief's axe rises high, sickly yellow orthstirr pouring off of it in thick droves. There's sadistic glee in the outlaw's murderous eyes. (Trick Attack: 18 vs Shieldless Defense: 4, Attacker wins. Trick Intercept: 22, Intercepted. Endurance damage dealt)
A crimson-coated shield slams into the outlaw's jaw. There's a sharp cracking sound as bloody teeth sail from his mouth and he stumbles back. A wordless scream of pain rips its way through his throat as Crowfeeder carves its way down the thief's side.
A heavy wound, but not enough to take the thief out of the fight. (Attack: 6 vs Trick Defense: 7, Defender wins)
Blood coats Steinarr's furious face as he brings Crowfeeder around for another strike. He swings with a blow that would've taken the thief's head clean off, had he not managed to bring his axe up in time.
The thief stumbles back, but stays on his feet. He wheezes, drawing ragged breath as the two warriors on their feet stare each other down.
Steinarr moves first, putting himself between Eric and the thief. He stands there, shield held before him as blood drips off Crowfeeder, prioritizing the safety of his son over securing the death of the thief. (Hugr: 5, 2, 6) 2 Super Successes, 1 Failure
The thief is looking to run, he's likely not expecting to be attacked by a little girl like yourself. Which means he won't be defending himself, not from you.
Which leaves an opening for you.
You came all this way already, you'd be a fool not to take it!
You have 1 combat dice and 2 points of reserve orthstirr.
[ ] Write in
[ ] Wait, redistribute orthstirr
0~0~0
AN: And here we are, your first combat encounter. Combat mechanics will be added under Turns and the Passage of Time
This time, to let you gain a better understanding of combat and because it's rather important to this quest, I've temporarily given you an extra two orthstirr to spend as you will.
Remember, orthstirr can be freely put into things, but cannot be freely taken out.
Please feel free to ask any questions you may have.
Take a look at the invisitext to get an understanding of how combat breaks down.
15-minute moratorium again. Combat
Combat works thusly; you have a pool of dice (gained through putting orthstirr into hamr (and hugr, if utilizing magic) and your skills. You also get dice from equipment) that you divvy out amongst offensive, defensive, and trick options.
Tricks always have a cost attached to them, which is paid with orthstirr. You don't so much use a trick as you tap it to be used automatically by your character. You can use more orthstirr than is required, which gives you additional dice for that action.
Lets say you have a combat pool of 12 dice, plus 8 orthstirr held in reserve. A basic plan might look something like this;
[X] Plan name
-[X] 3d6 to Attack (This means that you'll make three attacks, each with 1d6)
-[X] 5d6 to Defense (This means that you'll be able to defend yourself five times, each with 1d6, before your defenses are overwhelmed)
-[X] 1d6 to Intercept (Intercepting means that, should you see something happening to an ally, you try to stop it)
-[X] 1d6 to Trick1 (3 Orr (shorthand for orthstirr))
-[X] 2d6 to Trick2 (5 Orr) (You can dedicate multiple dice to a trick, though it will still only be used once. The same trick can be used multiple times, though you have to make another line for it.)
-[X] (optional write in) General tactics. No need for a blow-by-blow, just give me the basics. This is simply for flavor so I know the vibe you're going for. If you want to pick something up or any other option, or putting more orthstirr into a stat or skill, you say so here.
Dice dedicated to Attack go up against the dice dedicated to Defense by the enemy and vis versa. Winning the contest means you deal Endurance damage to your opponent. NPCs can take multiple points of Endurance damage in a single round while PCs can only take a maximum of 1 Endurance per round (with the exception of certain Tricks). Your defenses being overwhelmed means that you take a point of Endurance damage.
When an opportunity presents itself, the readied Trick is used, which uses all the dice assigned to it (including orthstirr cost and any boosting) in a single attack or defense. Tricks can either be defensive or offensive, sometimes both. When an offensive Trick is used, the only thing that can counter it is a defensive Trick or through sacrificing your shield.
Shields have a certain amount of hits they can take before they're broken. You can sacrifice your shield to save you from a Trick. Shields are automatically replenished the next turn in a season.
While I would not recommend burning through all of your reserve orthstirr in a single round, you could definitely do it.
At the end of every round, the combat pool is refreshed. Spent orthstirr, however, is only regained at the end of combat.
Also at the end of every round, you make a hugr roll to see if you can glean any insight into what they're planning next. This isn't going to be a perfect breakdown of dice usage (not unless you get an absolutely crazy roll) but it will tell you how they're going to act in the next round. Who they're focusing on, defense or offensive priority, or if they're readying a lot of tricks. Things like that.
(Attack: 6 vs Defense: 1, no reroll required, Attacker wins) (Temperament: Auto-Pass, Bloodlust)
No matter how much you boasted within the privacy of your own mind nor how much you reassured yourself that you would fight as well as any man, should it come down to it, there always was that little, sniveling voice whispering sickly doubts in the back of your mind.
Nobody truly knows how they will fare in true combat, when iron is drawn and flesh is split.
Deep down, you feared that you would be nothing more than a quivering coward. That you'd simply stand shaking in place as your enemies carved your head from your shoulders.
But, as you charge across the small battlefield and all eyes land on you, you're thankful to find that pitiful little voice silent in the face of your bravery. Somehow, you know it won't be troubling you again.
You stare the outlaw dead in the eyes, as he looks on in astonishment. He blinks first, the coward. He wants to run, you want him to not be able to run anymore. A simple problem that had a simple solution.
You swing the wood axe with all your might, aiming to cut off or cripple one of his legs. He tries to raise his own axe in defense, but his mind simply cannot comprehend that a woman not only bears arms, but is actively using them.
You punish him dearly for his misstep, by taking away his ability to ever step again.
His mouth slams shut so hard you wonder how his teeth don't shatter. The axe clatters to the ground as he clutches both hands to the bloody mess where his knee used to be. His other leg tries to steady himself and spreads his legs wide in doing so.
This is your moment, you realize with eyes as wide as his legs. You only have one trick, so you'd best use it as best you can. This will be the first time you've used orthstirr in combat! You have no idea how it wo- (Trick Attack: 4 vs Absent Defense: Auto-Fail, Attacker wins)
Your body moves before you tell it to and you find yourself taking a step forward, like your instincts had taken over the reigns.
A fire ignites in your chest, inside the atrium of your heart. It burns with red-hot fervor. Eyes dilate, teeth chatter, breath quickens. You feel both as sick as the mangiest dog and like you could rule all the Nine Realms.
Orthstirr, stoked into a frenzied crimson wave, swirls around you as you step again, this time planting your foot into the ground. Your arms reach up, orthstirr focusing on your knee as your hands find homes on shaking shoulders.
Your hands press down and your knee swings up, hitting something soft and extremely vulnerable.
Every man within ten miles reflexively winces and crosses their legs, though only two know why.
With your senses as enhanced as they are, you never could have missed the outlaw's heart stopping.
You're not sure what killed him. Maybe it was the blood loss? Maybe he was so wounded that the shock killed him? Maybe, maybe, maybe.
All you know is that you just killed a man by kneeing him in the groin.
His sickly yellow orthstirr literally burns from the shame of it all as it leaks from his cooling corpse.
You hadn't been meaning to kill him, you'd only wanted to wound him enough so that he couldn't run away! And you'd succeeded! So why'd you have to go and do that?
Right before your eyes, the last remnants of the outlaw's identity turns to ash in the wind. You did this, you erased him from existence. What's two or three rabbits compared to tha-
Footsteps rouse you from your inner turmoil and a large hand on your shoulder draws your gaze to the side. Steinarr's gray eyes meet your own. Eric stands off to the side, a look of worry and concern on his face. Just how long were you looking at the outlaw's body, to not notice your brother back on his feet?
"We, as Norsemen, are nothing more than what our actions say about us." Steinarr begins with heavy, carefully chosen words. "As such, we must stand by them, even when they are mistakes. We can acknowledge them as mistakes, yes, but we must never try to take back an act once done. Such things lead to nidheart, and can spell doom."
He wipes the tears from your cheeks. You hadn't realized you'd been crying. Your arms shake as he takes the blood-stained axe from you and passes it to a silent Eric before sending him home. It takes you sometime to gather yourself, but Steinarr stays by your side through it all.
Eventually, you find the strength to speak. "Why am I so weak?" Your words are a harsh whisper as they leave your raw throat. You stare at your blood-soaked hands. "I was so proud of myself, earlier, for vanquishing the little coward. But if its gone, then why do I feel this way now?"
"The hardest part of being a young warrior isn't the fighting." He shakes his head, mind delving deep for the wisdom shared with him by his own father, your namesake. "It's joining the fight. It's working up the courage to put yourself out there, to expose yourself to the enemy, and to promise to gouge out their eyes should they fail to bring you down."
His next words stoke something in your heart. "And make no mistake, Halla, for after this you are a young warrior, let any challenge to that find itself helping Crowfeeder keep its name. Besides, it's the whole 'hitting him with an attack that shames him so hard that it erases his entire identity' thing that bothers you, yes? Not the actual act of killing?"
"I-" You blink, not having expected that specific of a question and a bit unsure how to answer it. After a moment, you find that he's... entirely correct. "Y-you're right," you splutter, trying to recall what it was he said before hitting you with that question. "What was that thing you cal-"
Steinarr's eyes snap wide open, like he hadn't meant to say something out loud. "I was the exact same way!" He tries to hurry the chat along, interrupting you in the process, "It's an awful feeling, isn't it? But don't worry, it gets easier, and besides, not every piece of him is gone, a small portion of it's in you!" He ruffles your hair, but you stand as stiff as a statue, barely swaying in the wind. He winces, hand slowly falling to the side. "I, um, your orthstirr will have converted it into more of your own in a couple of days, so he won't exist for much longer."
"You called me a warrior." You breathe out that final word as if it might disappear at any moment. Frankly, you couldn't care less about the outlaw's fate, not with your father's words bouncing around your skull.
"I..." Steinarr sighs, shoulders slumping in defeat. "I'm so proud of you, Halla. But you aren't ready to face the dangers that lurk in the dark."
"So teach me," You take a step forward, your boldness surprising the both of you, "teach me so that I one day will be ready to face them."
This time, as you look him in the eye, there's no worry undercutting his feelings, only brilliant pride in his daughter.
"Alright, but you can't tell anyone. And no going off on adventures until you're at least sixteen, especially not with any boys!"
You laugh, shaking your head at your beloved father's empty threats. He wouldn't hurt any prospective husband of yours.
Well, very much.
Probably.
(+2 Orthstirr gained from vanquishing the outlaw)
(Steinarr Hallsson gained as a Teacher)
(Journal Update: Mysterious Hideout removed, Steinarr's Training added)
(+1 to unlocking Boon: Nut-Cracker. Boon: Nut-Cracker added to Incomplete Boons)
(Loot Roll: 10, a blood-stained 1 ounce silver penny, plus a work knife on the body)
0~0~0 Does it want to be friends? (Hugr (Silver-Tongue): 6, 5, 3) 2 Super-Successes
This time, when you approach the dog, he begins wagging his tail as he climbs to his feet to meet you.
You crack a grin. Looks like the past few months have finally paid off, after all! Take that, Asva, for ever doubting you!
You pet the dog and he licks your palm. It tickles, making you laugh.
This dog needs a name, you realize as you give him the best belly rubs.
What do you want to call him?
[ ] Flekkr
[ ] Write in
0~0~0 (Hugr Training: 3, 5) 2 Successes
Ah ha!
You grin as you shoot to your feet, mind abuzz with new ideas and concepts you hadn't quite grasped before.
You'd had Stigr recite a line from one of his stupidly complex poems for you and now, after only a week of pondering its meaning, did you finally figure it out!
Your grin widens as your doggy friend joins in your happiness with barks of his own.
It's a good day to be Halla!
(Hugr Ranked Up)
0~0~0 (Fylgja???: 1) 1 Failure )
No matter who you asked, nobody on the farm could answer your questions to your satisfaction.
Not even Randi, story-teller supreme that she is, could sate your desire for specific details.
If nobody in Steinby can help you, then you'll have to go looking outside of it!
0~0~0
Seasonal:
[ ] (Seasonal) Top off the firewood supply.
[ ] (Seasonal) The fields need to be harvested and stored in the barn, for the animals to eat once the snow begins to fall.
[ ] (Seasonal) Help prepare the wagon for hauling the yearly tax to the Asvir headsman.
[ ] (Seasonal) Begin moving the animals back to their winter pastures.
0~0~0
Personal:
[ ] (Steinarr's Teaching) Its time, you feel, that you had a weapon in hand. What weapon do you want to ask for?
-[ ] A sword!
-[ ] A spear!
-[ ] An axe!
-[ ] A sax!
[ ] (Personal) You've heard about the nearby village of Asvir for many years now, but have never been. Lets see if you can't wring a promise out of your father to take you some time.
[ ] (Personal) Ask Randi to tell you some stories
[ ] (Personal) Pick a fight or spar with...
-[ ] Eric, your older brother, for fun
-[ ] Steinarr, as part of your training
-[ ] One of the local boys, for violence! (Optional Write In)
-[ ] Asva (You doubt she'd be willing to fight you, but maybe you can needle her enough?)
[ ] (Personal) Spend time with... (Write in)
[ ] (Exploration) Go on a walk through...
-[ ] The fields!
-[ ] The woods!
-[ ] The hills!
-[ ] One of the neighboring farms!
0~0~0
Training: You have 7d6 training dice to spend as you see fit.
[ ] (Training) Hamr (4 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hamr skill (Write in)
-[ ] (Steinarr's Training) (Optional) Ask Steinarr to teach you a trick (Write in the skill you want to try for a trick with)
[ ] (Training) Hugr (4 successes to rank up)
-[ ] (Optional) Train a hugr skill (Write in)
[ ] (Training) What in the heck is a 'fylgja'?
0~0~0
Orthstirr Available: 4
How do you want to use your orthstirr?
[ ] (Orthstirr Usage) (Write in)
0~0~0
(Random Event: 3, nothing happens)
0~0~0
AN: And so, the first Summer comes to an end. Next turn shall be Winter 1/Turn 1 and travel between locations shall come with some added difficulty.
