NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)
- Thread starter I.F. Ister
- Start date
- Original Fantasy Action
-
- Tags
- norse mythology (mythology) original xianxia cultivation western cultivation ask sirihand did your mother tell you anything? discussion pleases yggdrasil farming gloating gets people killed granary management hubris is a coward's word you will die norsemen do not die when they are killed the qm has a bad memory the qm is bad at math viking courtroom drama (legal drama) vikings
- Location
- In the oldest city on the oldest land
no rest for the wicked volsung
Honestly, Logi simply dosen't seem clever/smart enough to be part of any plot or scheme.
I think we should first talk with our family and household. Maybe also go to Vestfold and the Danelaw to recruit more people. We can see if Aki, Stigr, Wolfwind, Veny and Abjorn brother want to join.
Also, we should do further Divinations to identify who else is allied with Dorri. We put togheter the names of his children, retainers and important people in the Valley and learn who was in on the plot.
- Location
- In the oldest city on the oldest land
it feels a bit hasty to start planning dorri's murder when our only source is a single divination.
- Location
- Bretonnia
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Bro, I leave chapters to stack up for a while, and come back to find that Dorri was the one who got Steinarr killed??? What the fuck????
Also, Veny is still in the Valley? Could've sworn she'd left with Hardir for the Danelaw? Well, at least Flekkr (presumably) killed the ant that Framarr had watching us, so there's that I guess.
Also, Veny is still in the Valley? Could've sworn she'd left with Hardir for the Danelaw? Well, at least Flekkr (presumably) killed the ant that Framarr had watching us, so there's that I guess.
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I mean, we can probably pass through there? though it will take time
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Hey Halla,
1) What did Dorri say or do with regards to when you told him about the Vittra?
2) Have you noticed Framarr, Folkmarr or Dorri treating or looking at you differently since Yule?
3) For that matter, were any of Dorri or people related to Dorri at your Yule Party?
a) Who Yules with you these days anyway? Like, aside from your household, immediate family and friends.
4) Is your runework famous in the Hading Valley?
1) What did Dorri say or do with regards to when you told him about the Vittra?
2) Have you noticed Framarr, Folkmarr or Dorri treating or looking at you differently since Yule?
3) For that matter, were any of Dorri or people related to Dorri at your Yule Party?
a) Who Yules with you these days anyway? Like, aside from your household, immediate family and friends.
4) Is your runework famous in the Hading Valley?
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[X] Go with the people who went last time
-[X] (Optional) Add in some newbies
[X] Go shopping for some
[X] Stop some places along the way
-[X] (Optional) Stop in Denmark (+2 Days)
@Imperial Fister, out of curiosity, what's in Uppsala?
Unless he's the world's best actor, I don't think it fits his character to deliberately go after our kids. Also, he knows that Halla is a Seidr practioner. He knows enough about witches and (apparently) making pacts with spirits to know what a terrible idea it would be to give Halla nothing to lose.
As far as I'm concerned, when it comes time to settle up, we're going to leave parts of him scattered across separate mountain tops.
-[X] (Optional) Add in some newbies
[X] Go shopping for some
[X] Stop some places along the way
-[X] (Optional) Stop in Denmark (+2 Days)
@Imperial Fister, out of curiosity, what's in Uppsala?
Unless he's the world's best actor, I don't think it fits his character to deliberately go after our kids. Also, he knows that Halla is a Seidr practioner. He knows enough about witches and (apparently) making pacts with spirits to know what a terrible idea it would be to give Halla nothing to lose.
As far as I'm concerned, when it comes time to settle up, we're going to leave parts of him scattered across separate mountain tops.
I'm just curious about what's there, since presumably there's a reason it's an option and I can't remember why for the life of me.
We definitely want to go to some of the trading ports where we're most likely to be able to find some enthralled monks taken in a raid (and free them ofc), to get a Latin teacher. But my thought was that we'd do that on the way back?
We definitely want to go to some of the trading ports where we're most likely to be able to find some enthralled monks taken in a raid (and free them ofc), to get a Latin teacher. But my thought was that we'd do that on the way back?
- Location
- Many Places
Hey Halla looking back what stage of Odr cultivation was Moonless Night on?
it might have been true if Dorri was in full control of the situation, but he is currently in conflict with Corpsemaker, which is stronger both politically and physically(Being a Steelfather). even if he deals with us that way, enraging us means either we do big damage going down, or we band with Corpsemaker(which he already seems to fear). neither are good for him
I mean, it gives us more days of travel. Wich means more actions we can take, so i suppose is an advantage from an action economy point of view and gives us more access to trading. It would also be the first time we go to Sweden.
Edit: just remembered, Uppsala is in Geatland. We can finnaly give Thievesbane back to its owner.
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Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
Uppsala is a major holy site, and like, if we're on that side of Scandanavia anyway, why not?. Though I admit, it's odd that it's showing up as an option.
I also wanted to hopefully resolve the Thievesbane arc while we're out here as a nice bookend, but we'll see what pans out.
I also wanted to hopefully resolve the Thievesbane arc while we're out here as a nice bookend, but we'll see what pans out.
Why its weird? Is probably the biggest city in Geatland and is very close to our objective.
I change my vote:
[X] Stop some places along the way
-[X] (Optional) Stop in Denmark (+2 Days)
-[X] (Optional) Stop at Uppsala (+5 Days)
Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
[X] Stop some places along the way
-[X] (Optional) Stop in Denmark (+2 Days)
-[X] (Optional) Stop at Uppsala (+5 Days)
I do feel a bit bummed that this means that Folkmarr and Audrikr are basically write-offs. I liked Audrikr, and wanted to get that Manetaker story from Folkmarr that he promised us... which will basically not happen now.
-[X] (Optional) Stop in Denmark (+2 Days)
-[X] (Optional) Stop at Uppsala (+5 Days)
I don't think anyone was surprised by Drysalt. Dorri and Drysalt, though, recontextualizes a lot of the previous updates from a new perspective. Dorri's really desperate in his conflict with Corpsemaker. Desperate people do desperate things. Narratively he's a thematic escalation of Horra.. more monsters, more magic, more personal. Horra killed our uncles we never met; Dorri/Drysalt betrayed and had our dad killed for motives yet unknown.
I do feel a bit bummed that this means that Folkmarr and Audrikr are basically write-offs. I liked Audrikr, and wanted to get that Manetaker story from Folkmarr that he promised us... which will basically not happen now.
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- Pronouns
- He/Him
Veny is in Vestfold, actually. But the list of people was intended to include her and other people who used to be in the Valley like Aki.
To be clear, that bit was in response to fighting him soon...like, two turns from now kinda soon. If we have time to improve significantly it'd be a different matter.
Ah. Probably the Thievesbane thing. Hmmmm. Might need to change my vote there...some resolution to that would be good.
EDIT: And changed.
I'm not sure of this. We reveal and prove this publicly and I'm not sure he'll directly fight us on it. Or not fight us to death and beyond, anyway. We'll have to see.
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Shard
One and Many
- Location
- Malaysia
Even if he doesn't fight us, killing his dad is probably like, a whole lotsa relationship minuses.
Maybe he will take it like Horra and be fine since his dad did horrible things? Like, horrible even for Norse cultural standards. He behaved like an Odreng.
Maybe we can salvage Audrikr too, if we limit ourselves to killing Dorri after his crimes are revealed. If Dorri dies, Audrikr is free from his oath. Who knows, maybe he will swear to us instead like Trausti and Tryggr did?
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Maybe? Folkmarr seems like a romantic at heart...not in the relationship sense, mostly, but in the 'has romantic ideas about the way the world works' sense. I suspect his father being involved in this will hit him really hard emotionally, and be viewed by him as a personal betrayal by said father. That could manifest a lot of different ways in his attitude towards us, honestly.
Alectai
Speaks Words of Wisdom... On occasion
The real issue is going to be the same as the Horra thing. "We have to prove his treachery in the eyes of the Law, otherwise swinging first is going to end badly for us."
That was why I specifically worded the vote as "Who will be our greatest allies in revealing his treachery". Corpsemaker's an ally because he can call for a Thing that lets us get all of the players involved in the same room and presumably kick it upstairs to the King, not because he's stronger. Doesn't matter if we have all the evidence in the world if the guilty party is the judge after all.
That was why I specifically worded the vote as "Who will be our greatest allies in revealing his treachery". Corpsemaker's an ally because he can call for a Thing that lets us get all of the players involved in the same room and presumably kick it upstairs to the King, not because he's stronger. Doesn't matter if we have all the evidence in the world if the guilty party is the judge after all.
Bestiary (alexthealright)
- Location
- Many Places
Norse Quest Bestiary
Please inform me of any creatures I have missed and any mistakes I have made regarding them.
Abysslings
Abysslings are found in Ginnungagap and the deep sea where they will sometimes attack ships in the open ocean, they attack in large groups and are made of Etir, the bigger the Abyssling the stronger and smarter they are.
Bright light scares small ones and attracts the large ones.
Discussed in (Rescuing Aki)
Bergsra
Bergsra are mountain spirits who sometimes lure people into their caves and keep them as either lovers or slaves.
In combat Bergsra are generally stronger than trolls. They don't turn to stone in the sunlight but lack trollish regeneration though, being creatures of rock and stone, bergsra are significantly more durable than mere flesh and blood. They are easily as intelligent as any human and are known to help miners if given the correct prompting, though they are just as likely to play tricks on them instead.
Appearance wise they are quite handsome and possess a hollow cavity in their back which shines like the inside of a geode.
Encountered during (Summer 10/Troll? Cave)
Draugr
They exhibit extreme variation in power, ranging from Lower Bottom to Steinarr tier, they can haunt your dreams if you encounter them and fail to kill them, They can be anywhere from mindless to fully sapient and can use Hugareida (we met one smart enough to feign weakness who also possessed an Ice Hugareida based fear aura)
They can be made from almost any animal (or at least you can to it to an elephant) and they either drain Orthstirr from living Norsemen or use that of their maker depending on whether they were born or made but cannot obtain it otherwise.
Dragur are why Hallr Blackhand instituted a tradition of cremation among his family
Unconfirmed: in some IRL myths they can become giants (In size not the race) and use dark magic.
Encountered during (An Evening Stroll Gone Terribly Wrong) (Horra's Sanctum) and (The Last Breath of Horra Hasvisson)
Threaded-Men were custom made Dragur created by Horra Hasvisson, they had Frenzy and used inbuilt weapons.
Dwarves
A Quick Overview
Dwarves are incredibly, ridiculously profit oriented maggot like humanoid creatures, they are fantastic miners, architects and smiths, whose services are often paid for with food from the surface which they love more than almost anything in existence, they are also the Hugr specialized race.
Dwarves are organized into clans made of male dwarves who bargain for the privilege of (fertilizing? I think?) a clutch of eggs from a female dwarf, the prosperity of the clan (or possibly its economy?) is directly linked to the clans cultivation similar to how a Norseman's fame and reputation is tied to their orthstirr (probably?) although the details aren't clear.
Dwarves hold a monopoly on the secret of forged iron and were the people who taught The Norse how to work metal (they rapidly began to regret this mistake when the secret spread and they lost their monopoly)
Love and Hate: Dwarves and the Sun
Dwarves love the Sun it is their greatest desire and the most beautiful thing they can ever imagine.
It is also their greatest weakness. Direct Sunlight and even spells which imitate it can instantly and permanently turn a dwarf to stone as well as render their enchanted objects (Temporarily?) inert.
This is probably the only reason they have not tried to conquer the surface world.
Origins
Dwarves were originally svartalfar who changed themselves to better trade and otherwise interact with Humans and are descended from the maggots who devoured Ymir's body alongside Trolls.
Dwarves and Warfare
Dwarves are incredibly dangerous communal supercomputers and instead of figuring out a new way to describe all various dangers I'm just going to quote Halla's analysis.
Quote begins
With little else to do other than continue shuffle-walking forwards, you allow a bit of frenzy to slip free of its binds. After all, since you're going to be fighting dwarves, you might as well get an idea of what sort of tactics might be in play.
What's immediately made apparent is the fact that, though they're smaller, their strength far outclasses that of the average human. But while their strength is considerable, their sheer endurance is what makes them a threat. A dwarf can spend six days of the week doing literally nothing other but mine and cart around ore. They eat and sleep on the seventh day, which is all they need to be ready for another six days of what would be unthinkably hard labor to a human.
No matter the tactics you employ, letting it become a battle of attrition means that you lose, eventually. Their armor and natural robustness makes such tactics worthless, as they will simply out-stubborn you and weather your attacks.
Dwarves, obviously, are aware of this. While their preferred method of defense seems to be to simply absorb the blows, their preferred method of attack is to unleash a ton of damage all at once. The shimmers show you losing limb after limb to their scything blades, if you dare to let them get hits in.
Though strong and tough, their weaknesses are also readily apparent. Dwarves simply don't have the vast array of options that you and humans in general have. While their minds are capable of processing extraordinarily complex calculations on the fly, which grants them the power to come up with new strategies and tactics on the spot, they don't always have the arsenal of tricks and abilities to take proper advantage of those new ideas.
Dwarves seem to share a sort of instinctual ability to seamlessly work together. A preternatural awareness that links them to their siblings, allowing them to pick up the slack wherever it may be and to quickly get up to speed on projects. While one dwarf may not be able to accomplish a tactic, two or three or even four dwarves working together might. Fighting a group of dwarves is less fighting a bunch of individuals and more fighting one individual that's spread out across the the group.
Get a dwarf on their own and you'll be able to outclass them quickly, which means that the trick to defeating a group of dwarves is to separate them...
Huh... That's sort of what the overall plan is, isn't it? Instead of dealing with the dwarves on an individual level and thinking about matters of single combat, like a human would do it, the dwarves are thinking on the larger scale of group-on-group.
Quote Ends
Other things you should know about Dwarves
1 They can counteract your Frenzy if you have it.
2 They gain a multiplier in combat equal to the number of dwarves you're fighting (This didn't activate for Contested Movement)
3 Dwarves don't roll dice against other Dwarves, presumably taking the average of any roll.
4 They have no sense of honor and are fully willing to do whatever it takes to win.
5 They like Flamethrowers and seem to enjoy WW1 style weapons in general.
6 If you make them really mad they will tunnel under your house and turn it into a sinkhole.
7 They seem to lack Hugareida or any obvious equivalent.
8 They have IPads. I am just as confused as you are.
The Ancestral Treaty prohibits any organized interference between the realms of man and dwarf and is very seriously enforced.
For the Good of Everyone. Do. Not. Fuck. with the Ancestral Treaty.
Encountered during (Dwarven Realpolitik)
Fenriskin
Very rarely, a wolf will be born with the blood of Fenrir coursing through its veins. These wolves inevitably gain a cruel, wicked intelligence and an intense hunger for the heart's blood of man. They gather wolves around them like a Jarl does a hird, and will begin to cause mayhem.
Fenriskin should be taken with deadly seriousness, they double damage like all wolves, they have Hugareida, can use Sedir, and the one we met was a full Odr cultivator.
Encountered during (Hunting the Hunters)
Foemen
Foemen are Neanderthals who serve the enemy, happily this means that I don't have write a summary of their entire culture and can instead focus on their combat performance.
Foemen are a force to be reckoned with in battle, they use a combination of formations and their own complicatedly simple cultivation system.
They have a small amount of "Points" which seem to function similarly to hone and reinforce and are hypothesized to give 1d4+1d6+1d8+1d10+1d12 per point, this makes them incredibly vulnerable to basic attack spam.
They have some equivalent to puncture allowing them to penetrate Perfect Defenses, however they seem to lack access to Hugareida or any equivalent except for Possessed Foemen, which we have not encountered yet but will appear alongside regular Foemen during Disclosure at a rate of 1-3 per infusion rank and 3-9 respectively.
They seem to have 1 of every shapeshift.
Encountered during (The Enemy's Men)
Giants
Giants are like Troll except that they are match for a Tenth Decade Knight, are much smarter, and do not turn to stone in sunlight.
Giants are generally isolationists so much so that they rarely see another giant let alone a human.
However, they also judge you based on how well you can use your body to convey ideas
The bee-comparison isn't too far off
They live in 'studios' and get together with the other members of their studio to compete with other studios over things like who gets to keep the children produced from couplings
We have never met a Giant.
Jotun
Jotun are full on capital G gods who have similar relationship to giants to what Aesir have with humans, they will absolutely destroy anyone who attempts to contest them in battle save the likes of Blackhand and Carful Stepper, try riddles instead as they cannot help but accept an issued challenge while on Midgard.
Interestingly they seem always emerge from the sea when appearing..
Encountered in (Summer 9/Voyage 1.12 Part 2) (Riddle Duel) and (Gotland Calls)
Nisse
Nisse are farm spirits placated by a bowl of porridge every Yule, they like horses, they can make decent illusions at combat relevant speed, are quite fast, and they have an incredibly poisonous bite.
Encountered during (Adult Responsibilities)
Pursuers
A Pursuer will appear to stop us during Disclosure. We have no more information on them.
The QM will give vague information for 3 reward dice
Trolls
Trolls are large, ugly, stinky, and stupid creatures. That doesn't inhibit their combat prowess however so you should still treat them with caution.
A Troll in combat is roughly equivalent in power to a Knight of the 5th decade but have two significant differences
1 They have Truly Absurd Regenerative Powers
2 They will turn to instantly and permanently turn to stone in sunlight.
Additionally they have some amount of innate magic although we don't know how relevant it is in combat.
Encountered in (Winter 5/Investigating Steinby)
Drysalt Hadingsbane is proved that there is some significant variation in Trollish power when he slaughtered almost the entire Hading Valley.
Troll-Men
Troll-Men have nothing to do with Trolls, They are an endless horde of literally subsapient humanoids which reproduce at a terrifying rate, even a single troll-man, if given unfettered access to meat, can swiftly produce one-hundred more troll-men in only a week's time. Expect at least 1000 of them per nest and quite possibly significantly more.
They seem to universally nest deep underground, forcing any extermination team to be quick or suffer Hamingja Damage from the sunless environment.
Luckily their tactical skill seems to stop at "Get him" and they are completely free of any cultivation allowing them to be brutally cut down like the mortals they are.
Interestingly they have begun to appear in Viking occupied parts of England.
Encountered during (The Enemy's Men) and (Your Pound of Troll-men Flesh)
Shadow Bear
A six clawed bear capable of jumping between shadows. It had around 20 Hamr (although it didn't exhibit combat speed shapeshifting during our fight.) and had doubled Endurance.
Encountered during (The Six-Clawed Beast)
Svartalfar
Svartalfar are the ancestors of modern day dwarves, who they have a certain resemblance to but their pale white heavily wrinkled skin, bulging segmented eyes, four arms, and mandibles, are all clear signs of their divergence.
They typically are not found anywhere near the surface, staying much deeper below ground than dwarves but are a favored tool the enemy in its schemes.
Encountered during (Your Pound of Troll-men Flesh)
Vittra
Vittra are invisible herders of similarly invisible cattle who are mostly native to Norrland (northern sweden in the modern day)
They are apparently quite strong
Encountered during (Winter 10/Lost Herd?)
Water-wolves
Water-Wolves are magical wolves who possess frenzy, use a good deal of water based magic, and have the doubled damage inherent to all wolves.
Encountered during (Hunting the Hunters)
Soulscape ecology
Tomvaettir
Tomvaettir - A minor sort of spirit that feeds upon plant life and whatever is weak enough to be devoured. They appear to have little in the way of conscious thought and seem almost emptierthan your average spirit. Perhaps you could 'fill' that emptiness somehow?
First encountered during (Winter 10/Turn 3)
Skapandivaett
This minor spirit seems far more creative than others of its ilk. Where tomvaettir merely graze, the skapandivaett searches. It upturns rocks, pokes its head into tree hollows, and even digs in the ground!
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
Syngjandivaett
Instead of searching for food itself the syngjandivaett will instead begin to sing, while the noises have no clear meaning it seems to have a positive effect on the lesser spirits around it as they bring all manner of food to the syngjandivaett
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
Veidvaett
Instead of singing or searching for its meal, this creature hunts. The 'veidvaett' stalks the tomvaettir with frenzied efficiency as it cleaves a bloody trail through the soulscape.
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
All three spirits are far more intelligent than their once-peers. They're probably smart enough to actually communicate with, should you be so inclined.
Assorted Tomvaettir Evolutions
As you feed some of the tomvaettir in your soul rocks, wood, and metal, you notice that the tomvaettir you feed a few months prior have vanished. In their place now sits a number of different spirits, each far more advanced than their previous selves.
Grjonvaett - Spirit of grain, pleasing the local grjonvaettir can mean bountiful harvests of grain while angering them can mean your grain withers in your fields.
Kjotvaett - Spirit of meat, pleasing the local kjotvaettir can mean you get ample meat from your animals and that it keeps for longer times. Angering them means that the meat is stringy and lacking in substance while it goes bad quicker.
Fiskvaett - Spirit of fish, pleasing the local fiskvaettir can mean bountiful catches of fish while angering them can mean that they drive the fish away.
Eplivaett - Spirit of fruit, pleasing the local eplivaettir can mean that the fruit-bearing trees have great harvests while angering them can mean that the local trees are barren and empty, or even poisonous to eat.
Grasvaett - Spirit of vegetation, pleasing the local grasvaettir can mean that the vegetables grow well while angering them can mean that the vegetables grow poorly or are even poisonous to eat.
Please inform me of any creatures I have missed and any mistakes I have made regarding them.
Abysslings
Abysslings are found in Ginnungagap and the deep sea where they will sometimes attack ships in the open ocean, they attack in large groups and are made of Etir, the bigger the Abyssling the stronger and smarter they are.
Bright light scares small ones and attracts the large ones.
Discussed in (Rescuing Aki)
Bergsra
Bergsra are mountain spirits who sometimes lure people into their caves and keep them as either lovers or slaves.
In combat Bergsra are generally stronger than trolls. They don't turn to stone in the sunlight but lack trollish regeneration though, being creatures of rock and stone, bergsra are significantly more durable than mere flesh and blood. They are easily as intelligent as any human and are known to help miners if given the correct prompting, though they are just as likely to play tricks on them instead.
Appearance wise they are quite handsome and possess a hollow cavity in their back which shines like the inside of a geode.
Encountered during (Summer 10/Troll? Cave)
Draugr
They exhibit extreme variation in power, ranging from Lower Bottom to Steinarr tier, they can haunt your dreams if you encounter them and fail to kill them, They can be anywhere from mindless to fully sapient and can use Hugareida (we met one smart enough to feign weakness who also possessed an Ice Hugareida based fear aura)
They can be made from almost any animal (or at least you can to it to an elephant) and they either drain Orthstirr from living Norsemen or use that of their maker depending on whether they were born or made but cannot obtain it otherwise.
Dragur are why Hallr Blackhand instituted a tradition of cremation among his family
Unconfirmed: in some IRL myths they can become giants (In size not the race) and use dark magic.
Encountered during (An Evening Stroll Gone Terribly Wrong) (Horra's Sanctum) and (The Last Breath of Horra Hasvisson)
Threaded-Men were custom made Dragur created by Horra Hasvisson, they had Frenzy and used inbuilt weapons.
Dwarves
A Quick Overview
Dwarves are incredibly, ridiculously profit oriented maggot like humanoid creatures, they are fantastic miners, architects and smiths, whose services are often paid for with food from the surface which they love more than almost anything in existence, they are also the Hugr specialized race.
Dwarves are organized into clans made of male dwarves who bargain for the privilege of (fertilizing? I think?) a clutch of eggs from a female dwarf, the prosperity of the clan (or possibly its economy?) is directly linked to the clans cultivation similar to how a Norseman's fame and reputation is tied to their orthstirr (probably?) although the details aren't clear.
Dwarves hold a monopoly on the secret of forged iron and were the people who taught The Norse how to work metal (they rapidly began to regret this mistake when the secret spread and they lost their monopoly)
Love and Hate: Dwarves and the Sun
Dwarves love the Sun it is their greatest desire and the most beautiful thing they can ever imagine.
It is also their greatest weakness. Direct Sunlight and even spells which imitate it can instantly and permanently turn a dwarf to stone as well as render their enchanted objects (Temporarily?) inert.
This is probably the only reason they have not tried to conquer the surface world.
Origins
Dwarves were originally svartalfar who changed themselves to better trade and otherwise interact with Humans and are descended from the maggots who devoured Ymir's body alongside Trolls.
Dwarves and Warfare
Dwarves are incredibly dangerous communal supercomputers and instead of figuring out a new way to describe all various dangers I'm just going to quote Halla's analysis.
Quote begins
With little else to do other than continue shuffle-walking forwards, you allow a bit of frenzy to slip free of its binds. After all, since you're going to be fighting dwarves, you might as well get an idea of what sort of tactics might be in play.
What's immediately made apparent is the fact that, though they're smaller, their strength far outclasses that of the average human. But while their strength is considerable, their sheer endurance is what makes them a threat. A dwarf can spend six days of the week doing literally nothing other but mine and cart around ore. They eat and sleep on the seventh day, which is all they need to be ready for another six days of what would be unthinkably hard labor to a human.
No matter the tactics you employ, letting it become a battle of attrition means that you lose, eventually. Their armor and natural robustness makes such tactics worthless, as they will simply out-stubborn you and weather your attacks.
Dwarves, obviously, are aware of this. While their preferred method of defense seems to be to simply absorb the blows, their preferred method of attack is to unleash a ton of damage all at once. The shimmers show you losing limb after limb to their scything blades, if you dare to let them get hits in.
Though strong and tough, their weaknesses are also readily apparent. Dwarves simply don't have the vast array of options that you and humans in general have. While their minds are capable of processing extraordinarily complex calculations on the fly, which grants them the power to come up with new strategies and tactics on the spot, they don't always have the arsenal of tricks and abilities to take proper advantage of those new ideas.
Dwarves seem to share a sort of instinctual ability to seamlessly work together. A preternatural awareness that links them to their siblings, allowing them to pick up the slack wherever it may be and to quickly get up to speed on projects. While one dwarf may not be able to accomplish a tactic, two or three or even four dwarves working together might. Fighting a group of dwarves is less fighting a bunch of individuals and more fighting one individual that's spread out across the the group.
Get a dwarf on their own and you'll be able to outclass them quickly, which means that the trick to defeating a group of dwarves is to separate them...
Huh... That's sort of what the overall plan is, isn't it? Instead of dealing with the dwarves on an individual level and thinking about matters of single combat, like a human would do it, the dwarves are thinking on the larger scale of group-on-group.
Quote Ends
Other things you should know about Dwarves
1 They can counteract your Frenzy if you have it.
2 They gain a multiplier in combat equal to the number of dwarves you're fighting (This didn't activate for Contested Movement)
3 Dwarves don't roll dice against other Dwarves, presumably taking the average of any roll.
4 They have no sense of honor and are fully willing to do whatever it takes to win.
5 They like Flamethrowers and seem to enjoy WW1 style weapons in general.
6 If you make them really mad they will tunnel under your house and turn it into a sinkhole.
7 They seem to lack Hugareida or any obvious equivalent.
8 They have IPads. I am just as confused as you are.
The Ancestral Treaty prohibits any organized interference between the realms of man and dwarf and is very seriously enforced.
For the Good of Everyone. Do. Not. Fuck. with the Ancestral Treaty.
Encountered during (Dwarven Realpolitik)
Fenriskin
Very rarely, a wolf will be born with the blood of Fenrir coursing through its veins. These wolves inevitably gain a cruel, wicked intelligence and an intense hunger for the heart's blood of man. They gather wolves around them like a Jarl does a hird, and will begin to cause mayhem.
Fenriskin should be taken with deadly seriousness, they double damage like all wolves, they have Hugareida, can use Sedir, and the one we met was a full Odr cultivator.
Encountered during (Hunting the Hunters)
Foemen
Foemen are Neanderthals who serve the enemy, happily this means that I don't have write a summary of their entire culture and can instead focus on their combat performance.
Foemen are a force to be reckoned with in battle, they use a combination of formations and their own complicatedly simple cultivation system.
They have a small amount of "Points" which seem to function similarly to hone and reinforce and are hypothesized to give 1d4+1d6+1d8+1d10+1d12 per point, this makes them incredibly vulnerable to basic attack spam.
They have some equivalent to puncture allowing them to penetrate Perfect Defenses, however they seem to lack access to Hugareida or any equivalent except for Possessed Foemen, which we have not encountered yet but will appear alongside regular Foemen during Disclosure at a rate of 1-3 per infusion rank and 3-9 respectively.
They seem to have 1 of every shapeshift.
Encountered during (The Enemy's Men)
Giants
Giants are like Troll except that they are match for a Tenth Decade Knight, are much smarter, and do not turn to stone in sunlight.
Giants are generally isolationists so much so that they rarely see another giant let alone a human.
However, they also judge you based on how well you can use your body to convey ideas
The bee-comparison isn't too far off
They live in 'studios' and get together with the other members of their studio to compete with other studios over things like who gets to keep the children produced from couplings
We have never met a Giant.
Jotun
Jotun are full on capital G gods who have similar relationship to giants to what Aesir have with humans, they will absolutely destroy anyone who attempts to contest them in battle save the likes of Blackhand and Carful Stepper, try riddles instead as they cannot help but accept an issued challenge while on Midgard.
Interestingly they seem always emerge from the sea when appearing..
Encountered in (Summer 9/Voyage 1.12 Part 2) (Riddle Duel) and (Gotland Calls)
Nisse
Nisse are farm spirits placated by a bowl of porridge every Yule, they like horses, they can make decent illusions at combat relevant speed, are quite fast, and they have an incredibly poisonous bite.
Encountered during (Adult Responsibilities)
Pursuers
A Pursuer will appear to stop us during Disclosure. We have no more information on them.
The QM will give vague information for 3 reward dice
Trolls
Trolls are large, ugly, stinky, and stupid creatures. That doesn't inhibit their combat prowess however so you should still treat them with caution.
A Troll in combat is roughly equivalent in power to a Knight of the 5th decade but have two significant differences
1 They have Truly Absurd Regenerative Powers
2 They will turn to instantly and permanently turn to stone in sunlight.
Additionally they have some amount of innate magic although we don't know how relevant it is in combat.
Encountered in (Winter 5/Investigating Steinby)
Drysalt Hadingsbane is proved that there is some significant variation in Trollish power when he slaughtered almost the entire Hading Valley.
Troll-Men
Troll-Men have nothing to do with Trolls, They are an endless horde of literally subsapient humanoids which reproduce at a terrifying rate, even a single troll-man, if given unfettered access to meat, can swiftly produce one-hundred more troll-men in only a week's time. Expect at least 1000 of them per nest and quite possibly significantly more.
They seem to universally nest deep underground, forcing any extermination team to be quick or suffer Hamingja Damage from the sunless environment.
Luckily their tactical skill seems to stop at "Get him" and they are completely free of any cultivation allowing them to be brutally cut down like the mortals they are.
Interestingly they have begun to appear in Viking occupied parts of England.
Encountered during (The Enemy's Men) and (Your Pound of Troll-men Flesh)
Shadow Bear
A six clawed bear capable of jumping between shadows. It had around 20 Hamr (although it didn't exhibit combat speed shapeshifting during our fight.) and had doubled Endurance.
Encountered during (The Six-Clawed Beast)
Svartalfar
Svartalfar are the ancestors of modern day dwarves, who they have a certain resemblance to but their pale white heavily wrinkled skin, bulging segmented eyes, four arms, and mandibles, are all clear signs of their divergence.
They typically are not found anywhere near the surface, staying much deeper below ground than dwarves but are a favored tool the enemy in its schemes.
Encountered during (Your Pound of Troll-men Flesh)
Vittra
Vittra are invisible herders of similarly invisible cattle who are mostly native to Norrland (northern sweden in the modern day)
They are apparently quite strong
Encountered during (Winter 10/Lost Herd?)
Water-wolves
Water-Wolves are magical wolves who possess frenzy, use a good deal of water based magic, and have the doubled damage inherent to all wolves.
Encountered during (Hunting the Hunters)
Soulscape ecology
Tomvaettir
Tomvaettir - A minor sort of spirit that feeds upon plant life and whatever is weak enough to be devoured. They appear to have little in the way of conscious thought and seem almost emptierthan your average spirit. Perhaps you could 'fill' that emptiness somehow?
First encountered during (Winter 10/Turn 3)
Skapandivaett
This minor spirit seems far more creative than others of its ilk. Where tomvaettir merely graze, the skapandivaett searches. It upturns rocks, pokes its head into tree hollows, and even digs in the ground!
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
Syngjandivaett
Instead of searching for food itself the syngjandivaett will instead begin to sing, while the noises have no clear meaning it seems to have a positive effect on the lesser spirits around it as they bring all manner of food to the syngjandivaett
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
Veidvaett
Instead of singing or searching for its meal, this creature hunts. The 'veidvaett' stalks the tomvaettir with frenzied efficiency as it cleaves a bloody trail through the soulscape.
First encountered during (Summer 11/Turn 1)
All three spirits are far more intelligent than their once-peers. They're probably smart enough to actually communicate with, should you be so inclined.
Assorted Tomvaettir Evolutions
As you feed some of the tomvaettir in your soul rocks, wood, and metal, you notice that the tomvaettir you feed a few months prior have vanished. In their place now sits a number of different spirits, each far more advanced than their previous selves.
Grjonvaett - Spirit of grain, pleasing the local grjonvaettir can mean bountiful harvests of grain while angering them can mean your grain withers in your fields.
Kjotvaett - Spirit of meat, pleasing the local kjotvaettir can mean you get ample meat from your animals and that it keeps for longer times. Angering them means that the meat is stringy and lacking in substance while it goes bad quicker.
Fiskvaett - Spirit of fish, pleasing the local fiskvaettir can mean bountiful catches of fish while angering them can mean that they drive the fish away.
Eplivaett - Spirit of fruit, pleasing the local eplivaettir can mean that the fruit-bearing trees have great harvests while angering them can mean that the local trees are barren and empty, or even poisonous to eat.
Grasvaett - Spirit of vegetation, pleasing the local grasvaettir can mean that the vegetables grow well while angering them can mean that the vegetables grow poorly or are even poisonous to eat.
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One of this days we need to make another expedition underground. I really want to learn more abaout the Svartalfar, if we can trade with them and maybe push them away from the influence of the Enemy.
We should also check to see that another Troll-Men infestation is not spreading down there, it would be better if there were periodical culls to make sure the Troll-Men don't grow too numerous.
We should also check to see that another Troll-Men infestation is not spreading down there, it would be better if there were periodical culls to make sure the Troll-Men don't grow too numerous.