NorseQuest (A Norse Xianxia)

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

I can't recall if there were rules against girls fighting. I know it was illegal for them to bear arms.

Obviously this has not been translated into the story, for Quest purposes.

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The law almost certainly varied by place and era even in reality. There have been a small number of Viking women's graves discovered with weapons in them seemingly indicating they were given status as warriors. That was definitely the exception rather than the rule (we're talking less than 1% of the women's graves found), but they do exist and there are contemporary accounts of women warriors among the Vikings by some of their enemies, as well. So I think the evidence is that it was highly unusual (probably more so than in this quest), but not completely unheard of for a woman to become a warrior.

It's also a stupid idea because if the men are out raiding, someone's got to be able to protect the homestead--which is even more important when you can just get random zombies popping up with supernatural powers.

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From what I can tell, the law (in times and places it existed and was enforced) was against carrying weapons rather than owning them...presumably if you're defending the homestead you've got any owned weapons right there.

 

[PeaterDuck12]

Abjorn is doing his damndest to buy you time, holy shit.

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Best boy, glad we married him LOL. 1 Question, what does Abjorn parents think of Halla, I don't think we've seen them.

Abjorn suddenly looking very tired

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Bwhaha

'Oh not this again!'

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BWHAHAHA

I know it was illegal for them to bear arms.

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That is fine, just means we need to wolf them instead

 

[I.F. Ister]

Abjorn parents think of Halla, I don't think we've seen them.

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Abjorn's mother is dead. His father, Vidar, remarried twice, though no children were born so he and they divorced amicably.

Vidar is a boar of a man, hairy and stout. You wouldn't believe that a man like Abjorn could come from a man like Vidar. Vidar is loud and boisterous, always spoiling for a fight. Supposedly, he and Steinarr met while adventuring and hit it off.

Vidar doesn't think much of Halla, but he also doesn't think much of his son. Abjorn's not nearly 'manly' enough for his tastes. There's a reason why Abjorn's older brother has really only ever been mentioned.

 

[Ryumancer]

Vidar is loud and boisterous, always spoiling for a fight.

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...Sounds like he would greatly approve of Halla once he gets to know her (probably with a bit of sparring involved), though he'd probably be a bit miffed that his son's wife is more 'manly' than his son.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

...Sounds like he would greatly approve of Halla once he gets to know her (probably with a bit of sparring involved), though he'd probably be a bit miffed that his son's wife is more 'manly' than his son.

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Uh...I would not describe Abjorn as 'unmanly' in any meaningful way. He tends to defer to Halla, sure, but he's otherwise pretty damn manly by most Norse cultural principles, at least from what we've seen. Which, I think means his dad's standards are unreasonable and unpleasant.

 

[Sivantic]

Uh...I would not describe Abjorn as 'unmanly' in any meaningful way. He tends to defer to Halla, sure, but he's otherwise pretty damn manly by most Norse cultural principles, at least from what we've seen. Which, I think means his dad's standards are unreasonable and unpleasant.

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That was the point.

If his son was not acting like a frat boy, he is not manly. Stella is the most boisterous of the two.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

That was the point.

If his son was not acting like a frat boy, he is not manly. Stella is the most boisterous of the two.

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Right, my point was that Halla actually probably doesn't match his standards either. Her temper is no worse than Abjorn's and she doesn't really act like a frat boy either...she talks more than Abjorn, but not in that way. Like, even leaving aside her being a woman, I don't feel like she'd actually come off as notably more 'manly' by whatever weird definition this guy is using.

 

[KreenWarrior]

Kind of a horrible thought, but are inverted runes a thing? Could we make an inverted "Making Meat Fresh Stick" that rots enemies when you stick them with it?

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

Kind of a horrible thought, but are inverted runes a thing? Could we make an inverted "Making Meat Fresh Stick" that rots enemies when you stick them with it?

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I don't think so since it's a sentence. Like, phrasing that in an opposite way would be...weird.

I'm sure you could make a Rune to rot people when you stabbed them, but I think aside from using a term for 'stabbed' the wording would be completely different. You'd basically be starting over from scratch.

 

[I.F. Ister]

Kind of a horrible thought, but are inverted runes a thing? Could we make an inverted "Making Meat Fresh Stick" that rots enemies when you stick them with it?

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I like the idea, but unfortunately inverted runes would just be runes but inverted. The runes are just the delivery method for the magic, it doesn't really matter how they look, as long as the meaning can be gleaned.

edit: which is why kennings and cryptic runes are good, because then your enemy may not know what the runes do until it's already too late.

 

[Sirrocco]

Kind of a horrible thought, but are inverted runes a thing? Could we make an inverted "Making Meat Fresh Stick" that rots enemies when you stick them with it?

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We can't do that just by inverting the stick we've got, but if we get good enough at runes, we might be able to write our own.

 

[TheCount]

Heh, nice update.
Rolls were awesome!
May the dice gods keep us in their favor.

(And Steinarr doesn't seem to know it either despite being close to 50 at this point)

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We should teach it to him, and Sten and Abjorn too.... And our other friends as well.

It's also a stupid idea because if the men are out raiding, someone's got to be able to protect the homestead--which is even more important when you can just get random zombies popping up with supernatural powers.

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Wait....
If all the fighting man and Halla goes on raiding.... Who will protect our family?
Or will Steinar unshackles Gabriel while he is raiding? Perhaps free him?

Kind of a horrible thought, but are inverted runes a thing? Could we make an inverted "Making Meat Fresh Stick" that rots enemies when you stick them with it?

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That's... Not a bad idea, honestly.

We can't do that just by inverting the stick we've got, but if we get good enough at runes, we might be able to write our own.

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Yeah, with QM clarifications, that's the way.
Rotting arrows sound horrible.
On that thought though....
@Imperial Fister how many runes can a thing have? With different effects, I mean.

 

[Slickji]

We can't do that just by inverting the stick we've got, but if we get good enough at runes, we might be able to write our own.

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no? if you write rune upside down it still counts as right side as long as all the rest are upside down too as orientation of the phrase doesnt matter.

 

[I.F. Ister]

Wait....
If all the fighting man and Halla goes on raiding.... Who will protect our family?
Or will Steinar unshackles Gabriel while he is raiding? Perhaps free him?

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I was gonna mention this next update, but since Asveig isn't in great condition, Steinarr is staying home.

@Imperial Fister how many runes can a thing have? With different effects, I mean.

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Runes are always created with a single, concrete purpose in mind. The more effects something has, the longer it takes to create. The true limit, however, is how much space you have to work with and what the effect is that you're trying to accomplish. The more comprehensive a description of an effect, the better it is, but requires more letters and space to create.

Also, because I still can't get over how genius the whale oil idea was, using thematically appropriate materials in the creation of the object results in more powerful effects.

 

[Sirrocco]

no? if you write rune upside down it still counts as right side as long as all the rest are upside down too as orientation of the phrase doesnt matter.

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Yes. I know. I'd said that. Additionally, if we get good enough at runes, we can figure out how to write "what this stabs, rots horribly" in appropriately poetic/metaphorical runescript and empower it, thus gaining the same effect.

Runes are always created with a single, concrete purpose in mind. The more effects something has, the longer it takes to create. The true limit, however, is how much space you have to work with and what the effect is that you're trying to accomplish. The more comprehensive a description of an effect, the better it is, but requires more letters and space to create.

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Ah! and I imagine that one of the things that makes you "good at runes" is the ability to write small.

 

[I.F. Ister]

Ah! and I imagine that one of the things that makes you "good at runes" is the ability to write small.

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Yes, but also no. After all, if runes are hard to read in a way that isn't cryptic, it can't be understood and therefore cannot be remembered by future generations. Which, of course, is the goal of Norse society; being remembered.

I really need to get around to making the drengr info post. But that is a Future Imp problem, for Present Imp needs their sleep.

 

[Alectai]

Yes, but also no. After all, if runes are hard to read in a way that isn't cryptic, it can't be understood and therefore cannot be remembered by future generations. Which, of course, is the goal of Norse society; being remembered.

I really need to get around to making the drengr info post. But that is a Future Imp problem, for Present Imp needs their sleep.

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BTW, did we crack the last part of the riddle for the flame pots? Someone mentioned this one Black guy who died by falling through a lake and then got divided up badly?

So the riddle is basically going "When Pottery Divides, Explosions become Easily Accessible" or something?

 

[I.F. Ister]

BTW, did we crack the last part of the riddle for the flame pots? Someone mentioned this one Black guy who died by falling through a lake and then got divided up badly?

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This is the last thing I'll say before I sleep, but solely because it is utterly ridiculous.

You got it right, more or less, but it's the wrong dude who got broken. Doesn't really matter, as the meaning is literally the same, but the fact that it happened multiple times in the sagas is crazy.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

@Imperial Fister
Going through the character sheet, I have noticed an exceedingly minor error: Management should only be 1 Success away from going up. We already had Management 1 before this turn's training and rolled one success this turn.

Also, going through the Land Management tab specifically and options there brings up a question:

-Basic Workshop (0/6) (Allows Multi-Crafting) (+1 to Crafting Rolls)(+1 Prestige)

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What's Multi-Crafting and how does it work? I mean, we definitely want the building for the +1 alone, I think, but understanding how it works seems relevant.

As a related question, inasmuch as it involves crafting, how would making more Explosive Charms or Meat-Keeping Sticks work...would that just be spending an action and making an Artcraft roll, and do we get one per success or what? Also, how would Meat-Keeping Sticks work mechanically? How much Food does each one preserve (I'm guessing they don't work on Fodder for reasons of logic)?

None of this is urgent since it all becomes relevant post-raid for the most part, but knowing the answers still seems good.

 

[I.F. Ister]

We already had Management 1 before this turn's training and rolled one success this turn

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Ope, I'll fix that once I've got a moment.Thanks for catching it.

What's Multi-Crafting and how does it work?

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Multi-Crafting is how you craft multiple projects without doing it one-at-a-time. You do this by assigning them Management Dice. These do not receive bonuses from your gear/muna/traits.

Also, how would Meat-Keeping Sticks work mechanically? How much Food does each one preserve (I'm guessing they don't work on Fodder for reasons of logic)?

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They each can preserve 1 Food or 1 animal carcass (which can be a lot of Food, depending on the animal slaughtered).

 

[KreenWarrior]

So we should definitely invest our raid profits (should we get them) in expanding our herds. We want more cows as insurance against one dying and for more milk. We should probably pick up pigs as well as cows, maybe sheep, and goats/chickens if those aren't abstracted.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

Ope, I'll fix that once I've got a moment.Thanks for catching it.

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No problem, happy to help.

Multi-Crafting is how you craft multiple projects without doing it one-at-a-time. You do this by assigning them Management Dice. These do not receive bonuses from your gear/muna/traits.

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So it lets us do crafting projects without spending Personal Actions? Interesting.

They each can preserve 1 Food or 1 animal carcass (which can be a lot of Food, depending on the animal slaughtered).

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Check. Makes sense.

My question got a little rambly but it did contain one other element: How does making rune-based items work? Do we just spend an action, roll Artcraft and then get a number based on our successes, or what?

So we should definitely invest our raid profits (should we get them) in expanding our herds. We want more cows as insurance and for more milk. We should probably pick up pigs as well as cows, and goats/chickens if those aren't abstracted.

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We want sheep over pigs, I think. For the wool. I mean, having both eventually is potentially solid, but priority-wise. Also, mutton was specifically noted as Halla's favorite food early on, so there's that.

 

[KreenWarrior]

No problem, happy to help.



So it lets us do crafting projects without spending Personal Actions? Interesting.



Check. Makes sense.

My question got a little rambly but it did contain one other element: How does making rune-based items work? Do we just spend an action, roll Artcraft and then get a number based on our successes, or what?



We want sheep over pigs, I think. For the wool. I mean, having both eventually is solid, but priority-wise. Also, mutton was specifically noted as Halla's favorite food early on, so there's that.

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The mutton thing is a good pull. Pigs are more for maximizing the gain from Meat-Preserving Sticks. Sheep are good on their own for making wool and milk/cheese of course.

 

[I.F. Ister]

How does making rune-based items work? Do we just spend an action, roll Artcraft and then get a number based on our successes, or what?

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The rolls would be for the overall quality of the carving/whatever while you would make the actual words and phrases yourselves. Again, super experimental so if it doesn't work out then we'll abstract it.

Materials, of course, play a large role as well. Quality isn't as important as being thematically appropriate.

 

[DeadmanwalkingXI]

The mutton thing is a good pull. Pigs are more for maximizing the gain from Meat-Preserving Sticks. Sheep are good on their own for making wool and milk/cheese of course.

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Fair. We can maximize that even more with cattle (cattle provide 12 Food and weigh a bit over twice what the heaviest pigs do, well maybe a bit more than that...I'd expect 4-6 Food on a pig and 2-3 on a Sheep or Goat...chickens are probably 1, but are also an ongoing source of food from the eggs), but there are more reasons to keep cattle alive (pigs are pretty much kept solely to be eaten).

We can probably afford both after raiding if we want and can also manage to get the necessary staff to take care of them properly while doing other stuff. We definitely need to figure out how much various livestock costs so we can plan appropriately.

The rolls would be for the overall quality of the carving/whatever while you would make the actual words and phrases yourselves. Again, super experimental so if it doesn't work out then we'll abstract it.

Materials, of course, play a large role as well. Quality isn't as important as being thematically appropriate.

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That's totally fair for experimental or innovative rune-carving, but I was more talking about duplicating the rune-patterns we already know. What happens if we just spend a Personal Action on 'Make as many Meat-Keeping Sticks as possible'? Because we may well want to do exactly that at some point.