They didn't only have access to their native horses, though, and often fought amongst themselves, or carved out space in foreign lands (like Russia or England). If they saw rival warriors riding about, did they just never…?

It involved a completely different skill set, different horses, and different weapons and tactics (they primarily used shield walls in the kind of battle where cavalry would be useful). There's also the economic factor: Horses were in fact expensive and prestigious for the Norse to own, so risking them in battle was not economically incentivized.

I'm sure some Norse dude fought on horseback at some point in history, but they never fielded units of cavalry.
 
They didn't only have access to their native horses, though, and often fought amongst themselves, or carved out space in foreign lands (like Russia or England). If they saw rival warriors riding about, did they just never…?

Scandinavia is not the most fertile or temperate place, which is part of this. However I also believe current historiography is a bit more sceptical of the idea that the Norse did not fight mounted full stop; especially in Ireland or in continental Europe we see a few attestations of small mounted engagements. But generally the fact that Viking raids depended on fairly small ships, plus the climate of Scandinavia and Norse agriculture during the time period not being amazingly productive contributed to very little mounted fighting amongst by elites. Horses were valuable, and kept mostly for riding.

However, it's worth noting that the Normans were the descendants of Norse warriors and farmers who conquered and settled in Northern France, and became excellent cavalrymen. So good in fact that they then went on to fight and conquer kingdoms all over Europe and the Mediterranean, including Sicily and England to name a few. So given the right circumstances and opportunity (I.E., living in Normandy and not Norway), it seems that the Norse could absolutely translate their martial tradition into formidable prowess as mounted warriors.

[X] Plan Let's Try Stoker State
-[X] Before combat, de-assign Heated Shroud and assign Atgeir Counter-Stab
-[X] Invest 2 Orthstirr in Hugr, 1 in Composure, 4 in Tactics, 3 in Scouting, 5 in Wildcraft (-16 Orthstirr)
-[X] 41d6 Attack (32d6 tricks)
-[X] 63d6 Defense (63d6 tricks)
-[X] 0d6 Intercept
-[X] Put 5 Orthstirr into 10 layers of Reinforce Shield before the combat begins (-5 Orthstirr) and Explosive-Reactive Armor (-9 Orthstirr) just in case
-[X] Activate Stage 3 Stoker State (-9 Orthstirr), Slipstream (-8 Orthstirr), and take to the air with Ember-Wing-Cloak (-6 Orthstirr, all numbers below include the +1d6 from Skyfire)
-[X] Put up a 75d6+9 (w/Hugareida) Orthstirr-Enhanced x15 Sword Guard (-25 Orthstirr) and activate an Atgeir Counter Stab (-16 Orthstirr) with a pool of 5d6 to attack those who attack us, using 13d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Sharpened x5 Lightning-Charged Basic Attacks to counterattack (-6 Orthstirr, -1d6 from pool each).
-[X] Open up with a 16d6+5 (w/Hugareida) Orthstirr-Enhanced x9 Inertia-Arresting Throw (-15 Orthstirr) to catch the wolf trying to flank us and use another identical one (also -15 Orthstirr) to trap any other wolves who join in beyond the two we know about already (or to trap the flanking one again if it gets free), or to stop any from escaping.
-[X] Make a total of three 18d6+5 Sharpenedx5 Lightning-Charged Stoking Strike attacks using 6 Stoker Dice, 3 Stoker Dice, and 0 Stoker Dice respectively (-12 Orthstirr each) to test out how those work and what different amounts of power into them do, following each of the three up with an instant follow-up Sharpened x4 Sword Strike (-12 Orthstirr each) and then proceed with nine 12d6+5 Sharpened x5 Lightning-Charged Basic Attacks (-6 Orthstirr each).
-[X] Against any melee attacks use Contested Movement to defend against them, adding any Stoker State dice we possess after we've made the first two Stoking Strikes (-3 Orthstirr, 8d6+5 plus Stoker State dice) and counterattacking with Sharpened Lightning-Charged Skewer-Flick attacks (-6 Orthstirr) and if that fails to defend us use Focus Guard (-14 Orthstirr) or Sidestep (-2 Orthstirr) as appropriate to defend.
-[X] When not able to use Contested Movement or against ranged attacks Sword Guard to defend against everything. In response to anything that gets through Sword Guard use Halting Vortex (-4 Orthstirr), and if something gets through that use up to five 75d6+9 Reinforcedx73 Sway defenses (-75 Orthstirr each).
-[X] Stoke Frami if our Orthstirr drops below 100 (+202 Orthstirr)
-[X] If targeted with an AoE too big to use Halting Vortex against, use Backstep combined with Ember-Wing Cloak to dodge (-15 Orthstirr total for both of them).
-[X] Tactics – So the idea here is to put up a big defense (suitable for stopping three or four wolves adding their attacks together), trap one wolf, then move into melee and kill at least one other while the first one is trapped, and then finish off the remaining one or two. This plan also involves a lot of counterattacking with both Atgeir Counter Stab and Contested Movement as double-counterattacking is also a very solid tactic. We definitely move on to attacking other wolves after we finish off our three if that becomes a viable option, though we'll try not to actually kill-steal (ie: killing wolves attacking someone else is fine, killing wolves they are attacking is less so).

So, we need to try out Stoking Strike sometime, and this seems like a good opportunity (it also tries out various other tactics we don't use all that much). Other than that, this is basically lots of basic attacks and counterattacks. The Atgeir Counter-Stab is a trifle tentative until we know how durable it is for purposes of Sharpen, but it'd just move a few dice around to get more or less attacks with that.

I can see how much effort and time has gone into this plan, looks really good.

Only thing that comes to mind before I go to sleep is maybe put a bit more dice into the IAT? If the wolf is attacking us when we use IAT, then they might be resisting IAT using their attacking pool of dice rather than their defending one, so plausibly that could be like 20d6. So I'd add like 9 Orthstirr to bump IAT up to 25d6, that way we'd have to get really unlucky for them to wriggle out of it.

Anyway, looks good, and I like the idea of giving Stoking Strike a bit of a test-drive.

[X] Plan Let's Try Stoker State
 
I can see how much effort and time has gone into this plan, looks really good.

Thanks! :)

Only thing that comes to mind before I go to sleep is maybe put a bit more dice into the IAT? If the wolf is attacking us when we use IAT, then they might be resisting IAT using their attacking pool of dice rather than their defending one, so plausibly that could be like 20d6. So I'd add like 9 Orthstirr to bump IAT up to 25d6, that way we'd have to get really unlucky for them to wriggle out of it.

I actually just fiddled a little and upped them to 18d6 each. And we're not using it defensively, so I don't think they should be able to oppose it with their offense...and more importantly, if they do, it's probably all three of their offenses added together (since they've been mentioned to work like dwarves in that regard), which makes it likely that even the higher dice pool wouldn't be sufficient.
 
They didn't only have access to their native horses, though, and often fought amongst themselves, or carved out space in foreign lands (like Russia or England). If they saw rival warriors riding about, did they just never…?
The Norse, as well as just about everybody with access to horses, used mounted infantry. That is, they rode into battle, dismounted, and then fought on foot. If you see mention of horses in regards to Norse combat, it is almost always going to be in that manner. Now, that's not to say that they didn't fight from horseback because I'd be willing to bet money on some Norseman, somewhere, having decided to hop on his horse to fight some ruffians on his property. If some guy decided to use a sled runner instead of his readily available weapons—to great effect no less!—then somebody absolutely fought from horseback and, knowing how effectively the Norse tended to use improvised arms and armor, I would also bet that the guy absolutely clowned on the people he fought.

And then probably fell through a lake or something while riding across it to impress his friends.
 
"-is what your fylgja saw?" The Headsman's whispers send sharp hisses into the air.

"If I wasn't, you wouldn't be seeing it," you fail to place the stoic, baritone voice answering the Headsman.

"This...," wood creaks as the Headsman leans back with a stressed sigh, "I'm not sure what to make of this, Bisi, but few possibilities are good."
Stuff like this really makes me want us to have more Sharpened Senses and/or a Hamr trick to make our hearing more sensitive.
-[X] Make a total of three 18d6+5 Sharpenedx5 Lightning-Charged Stoking Strike attacks using 6 Stoker Dice, 3 Stoker Dice, and 0 Stoker Dice respectively (-12 Orthstirr each) to test out how those work and what different amounts of power into them do, following each of the three up with an instant follow-up Sharpened x4 Sword Strike (-12 Orthstirr each) and then proceed with nine 12d6+5 Sharpened x5 Lightning-Charged Basic Attacks (-6 Orthstirr each).
I think we might need more attacks, just, generally.
Framarr Heavyhand has something ant-related. Magic Item, Flygjur, or something else?
 
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"That is certainly more like the Halla Folkmarr told me of. My apologies for assuming you selfish." He nods his apology to you as his laughter trickles off. "However, I will not be doing that. Not," he holds up a hand to stop your protest, "because I think it a poor plan, but because you don't need my permission to conduct personal business."
If we'd rolled more successes he probably would've backed the play rather than just given permission. Ah, well, not everything works out perfectly and this is fine.
Dorri just reminded us that we did not need permission, not gave us permission.
 
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I think we might need more attacks, just, generally.

For three wolves? All which should require two attacks to kill at most based on supposed Hamr scores (they max out at Hamr 5-6 each based on it being a lot lower than ours, and I'd be shocked if they had even double that in Endurance)? And with two counterattacks per attack we get targeted with to boot?

I mean, we're making 15 attacks already (not counting our counterattacks) for a grand total of at least 72 damage (and that assumes Stoking Strikes and Sword Strikes both deal no more damage than a basic attack...it's probably significantly higher than that), plus another 13 damage per pair of counterattacks (8 from the Skewer-Flick, 5 from the Atgeir Counter Stab).

I sincerely think we're probably throwing out enough damage to kill all nine wolves if the attacks all hit, never mind the three we're fighting. Now, if we don't hit, that's more troublesome, but really that'd be an argument for more dice per attack, not more attacks.

Dorri just reminded us that we did not need permission, not gave us permission.

Technically correct, but my point is that he could have lent us his authority and prestige rather than merely stepping out of the way...if we'd rolled better. And much as he says we don't need his permission, and that's technically true, if we hadn't gotten it he easily could've gotten offended and made our request and our lives more difficult...so I'm pretty sure, in practice, we did in fact want, if not perhaps strictly need, his permission.
 
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Technically correct, but my point is that he could have lent us his authority and prestige rather than merely stepping out of the way...if we'd rolled better.
My point is that the bolded part is wrong - He wasn't 'in the way' to begin with.

Of course, we're more likely to succeed in these kind of things if we have a better relationship with his family..
 
My point is that the bolded part is wrong - He wasn't 'in the way' to begin with.

As I edited in, I think in practice he was. Or at least could've been. We may not technically need the headman's permission to conduct private business, but if we conduct private business he really doesn't like, particularly at a gathering he's in charge of, he has a lot of tools to express his displeasure, so asking his permission to conduct said business at such an event is still a good idea and what he did was still, in practice, granting that permission.
 
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I sincerely think we're probably throwing out enough damage to kill all nine wolves if the attacks all hit, never mind the three we're fighting. Now, if we don't hit, that's more troublesome, but really that'd be an argument for more dice per attack, not more attacks.
I do think we definitely want to hit for sure. Especially the first few attacks, if we kill and immobilize one or two wolves, then the fight become way more straightforward to handle.
 
You ever wonder where Taylor reincarnated after the headshot?
There are two constants, worm crossovers and familiar of zero crossovers.

Anyways, rather then Halla going somewhere, the far more interesting option in my opinion is if Abjorn went there instead. Abjorn is strong enough to solve most physical problems in most settings relatively easily, yet his personality doesn't lend itself well to actively dealing with threats of a more subtle nature. Halla, on the other hand, is savvy enough to understand what's going on—for the most part. The sheer wtf and oocp factor of Halla on a rampage would be entertaining for a bit, but after the initial novelty wears off it would probably get old fast.

Also, speaking of Worm, NorseQuest's Norse may be one of Taylor's worst possible match-ups beyond mere power-vs-power, but also in mentality. After all, NorseQuest's Norse literally out-stubborn reality into letting them live past otherwise 100% lethal wounds, which is a little funny.
 
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Man, if some superpowered viking showed up in Brockton Bay they would probably get in like three cape fights before anyone believed that they weren't with Empire 88
 
Alright, so, in terms of power levels, weapons, and brief descriptions, our composition of our side in this fight is:

Upper Top
-Nainn Rotting (Second-Grade Berserk) - Rot Hugareida and Kenning to go with it, Spear, Sword, No Armor - Headman's Hird, No personality description.

Top
-Heima Smiles (Second-Grade Berserk) - Sword and Shield - Kyrsvikingar, described as creepy and probably sociopathic. Does not have cheeks.

Lower Top
-Vagn Wheel-Drifter (First-Grade Berserk) - Spear - New in Agder (he's a Geat), jovial and friendly, hit on Halla but politely and took no for an answer, looking for some excitement.
-Nokkvi Good-Oars - Giant Blooded, Axe and Sax - Boat and rowing obsessed, friends with Eric, maybe a member of the Kyrsvikingar?
-Skoll the Hasty - Spear, Axe, Sax, and Shield - No known affiliation, ogled Halla immediately and gives off bad vibes.
-Halla Skyfire (Second-Grade Berserk) - More Hugareida Than You, Atgeir and two Saxes - No actual affiliation, friendly but clearly Very Married.

Presumably everyone is wearing armor except for Nainn since his not having it was notable. I suspect the rest all have mail, but someone could theoretically be wearing only a Gambeson. None but Nainn (and Halla) are notable for their Hugareida, but that doesn't mean they don't have them, just that it's not their main schtick.
 
Actually what is our combat reputation?

I mean, we have a 'Skyfire' Kenning so people probably expect a lot of flying around and fire usage. Which is fair and correct.

From our one raid with Folkmarr's Felag us having some sort of powerful defensive magic (people in the know would recognize Standstill) is likely also known, since we used that quite a bit in the Squire fight and against Father Gerrit. From the incident at Horra's place, I think us doing the bomb-boulder thing was probably the most notable, but that just feeds back into the 'Skyfire' thing.

So, yeah, I think what we're known for is flight, fire-based attacks, and Standstill. Per Audrikr we're also known as a technical fighter...someone who thinks through the way they fight rather than just throwing themselves in. Which is definitely fair.

Oh! There's also the still-nascent Nutcracker thing going around, which people may well have heard about and indicates we're willing to fight dirty. So that's definitely also part of our rep.
 
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