Valhalla?I [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Valhalla?I [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Aleolus
07-09-07, 07:48 PM I forget. What is the name of the plane of existance that is in constant battle? Where, if you die in battle there, at the end of the day, you are affected as though with a True Resurrection spell, and the battles never stop? Is it Valhalla, or am I misremembering?
Shemeska the Marauder
07-09-07, 08:38 PM Ysgard (the plane located, metaphysically speaking, between Arborea and Limbo).
ripvanwormer
07-09-07, 09:05 PM Valhalla is one of Odin's halls, located in Asgard, on the plane of Ysgard. Tyr dwells there when he's not in his own realm in Celestia.
Aleolus
07-09-07, 09:12 PM Thanks. I was wondering, because it struck me that that would be the perfect plane to travel to to level up. Fight till something kills you, then at the end of the day, you're back at full strength!
Hochiu
07-09-07, 09:37 PM The requisite for entering Valhalla and brawling with the Einherjar is that you're dead. I would think that a mortal (outsider to Ysgard) entering the plane and then fighting against the warriors of Valhalla would just end up with them being dead and travelling to the plane that fits their alignment. Period. Seems like a poor way to "level up".
Aleolus
07-09-07, 09:44 PM ...My understanding was that anyone who had the ability to travel to Ysgard (read, able to travel between planes), could go there, and would receive full benefits of all effects of said plane. Including being resurrected if killed on that plane. Now, my understanding may be flawed.
Hochiu
07-09-07, 09:53 PM Where did you draw that conclusion? I can't find it in my Manual of the Planes book and a brief skim of the Planar Handbook shows up nothing, either. Deities & Demigods shows only a single blurb about Valhalla which presents it as an explanatory fluff chunk, not saying that the players could join them. I could be wrong, too, so I'm curious.
Aleolus
07-09-07, 10:07 PM I forget which book I was reading in, but I remember reading that what I posted earlier about anyone who died on that plain being affected by a True Resurrection spell at the end of that day. After saying that, it specifically said that someone who died and then had their soul brought to Ysgard would not be affected in this way, that the person had to have died on Ysgard, and from that I came to the conclusion that it applied to anyone who died on Ysgard.
stclax_26
07-09-07, 11:08 PM Planes of Chaos, Asgard, p. 113

Special Conditions.

Anyone who dies heroically in Asgard - even a player character - is reborn the following day. The Norse powers and valkyries honor brave warriors, and those that're slain in valiant situations wake the next morning in Valhalla. There's two conditions though. First a cutter's got to die heroically. He can't just be cut down in battle; he's got to hew his way through a horde of foes, defending his comrades and shouting battle cries with his last breath. He's got to take on the biggest, meanest, most powerful creature on the battlefield and deliver a deathblow while his life's blood pours onto the plain. A second (or third, or fourth) life's got to be earned.

Second, the chance at another life is a gift, but it's not a free one. Like a raise dead spell, a cutter's still got to make a successful resurrection survival check, and she loses a point of Constitution for the privilege.

On the other hand, cutters who've proven themselves (either through deeds in their first life or by earning a second chance) are thereafter welcome in Asgard's halls, and counted among the heroes of the plane. If a feat's grand enough for the skalds of Ysgard to sing about, a cutter's proved herself a blood and can hold her head high - until her next defeat, of course.

Manual of the Planes, Heroic Domains of Ysgard, p. 90

Minor Positive-Dominant: Ysgard possesses a riotous explosion of life in all its forms. All individuals on a positive-dominant plane gain fast healing 2 and may even regrow lost limbs in time. Additionally those slain in the never-ending conflicts on Ysgard's fields of battle rise each morning as if true resurrection were cast on them, fully healed and ready to fight anew. Even petitioners, who as outsiders cannot be raised, awaken fully healed. Only those who suffer mortal wounds on Ysgard's battlefields get the true resurrection effect; dead characters brought to Ysgard don't spontaneously revive.

As DM, I would allow such an event to occur only once for the sake of easy xp and experimentation in mass warfare rules. More than once if events arose during a quest(s) where a PC did in fact die heroically for the group. Short of that, I'm not going to waste the other players time or mine allowing you to get your jollies off easy leveling. Hope that helps!

Cheers,
Andrew
Bob the Efreet
07-10-07, 03:18 PM As DM, I would allow such an event to occur only once for the sake of easy xp

I'd say that if there's no risk, there's no reward. Now, if the story goes to Ysgard and fights happen there, I can give XP as normal. But I don't allow easy-levelling schemes.

I'd allow it as an amusing backstory for a high-level game (My character brawled with einherjar until he was 15th level!) but not as a workable scheme in-game.
stclax_26
07-10-07, 04:27 PM Apologies, I should have emphasized the mass combat reasoning more. I have never run a game where mass combat rules such as Cry Havoc are used, and am intrigued enough to try them out should a group of PCs ever find themselves in Ysgard. I would insert a fun side-adventure to engage in a battle (i.e.-a drunken einherjar's challenge that escalates, a malfunctioning portal dropping them in media res, the price for information from a jarl they sought out, etc). For their trouble and my bumbling through the system, I would allow them to res and award them xp for their efforts (easy xp, I suppose).

That is, of course, should the PCs and their players feel inclined. If not, we would continue along the adventure, resurrecting when deemed heroically appropriate by Ysgard (me) and not for the sake of fun experimenting.

Cheers,
Andrew
El_Machinae
07-10-07, 04:51 PM A life of battle will make someone better at battle. Even if it's 'cheap', it works thematically. I guess that eventually you'll run out of things of a worthy CR.
Calmar
07-10-07, 07:10 PM The other guys should, more or less, get risen, too. That's like fighting summoned things, I guess...
Bob the Efreet
07-11-07, 05:13 PM A life of battle will make someone better at battle. Even if it's 'cheap', it works thematically.

True. So does training and practice-fighting. But you never hear players say "I want to go fight safely at the dojo until I'm level 8."
Aleolus
07-12-07, 05:52 PM Because "safe" fights take all the fun out of it! Without some danger, it doesn't feel quite the same, and so isn't as satisfying. On Ysgard, you still run the risk of dying in battle, but even after dying, you will be able to come back a bit later. So it's dangerous, but not in a permanent sense.
El_Machinae
07-12-07, 07:28 PM True. So does training and practice-fighting. But you never hear players say "I want to go fight safely at the dojo until I'm level 8."

True. But I rarely get run through the gut by a bastard sword at the dojo.
Paladin_Hiroshi
07-12-07, 07:40 PM Bah, this is where I disagree with splat books :D

If I play it by the DMG ANYONE who dies on Ysgard in battle is affected by a true ressurection, as long as they're not banished, petrified etc.

I think it suits it better, you don't get einherjar kicked out because they don't die heroically... although if you're alive, then I tend to have them tested, before they're allowed in. though if they fail, they are true ressurected, and then kicked onto a random plane....
JollyRotten
07-13-07, 11:08 PM You need to be chosen by a Valkyrie to gain admitance, if not I feel they would just gang up and kick you out. see link

Kinda like going to heaven without asking St Peter

http://worldsofimagination.com/god%20Valkyrie.htm
ripvanwormer
07-14-07, 01:41 AM You need to be chosen by a Valkyrie to gain admitance, if not I feel they would just gang up and kick you out.

That's true if you're trying to get to Valhalla, but not true for the entire plane of Ysgard. The entire plane isn't under the control of the Norse pantheon; there are free regions unclaimed by any god, and the resurrection effect applies there as well.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Aleolus 07-09-07, 07:48 PM	I forget. What is the name of the plane of existance that is in constant battle? Where, if you die in battle there, at the end of the day, you are affected as though with a True Resurrection spell, and the battles never stop? Is it Valhalla, or am I misremembering?
Shemeska the Marauder 07-09-07, 08:38 PM	Ysgard (the plane located, metaphysically speaking, between Arborea and Limbo).
ripvanwormer 07-09-07, 09:05 PM	Valhalla is one of Odin's halls, located in Asgard, on the plane of Ysgard. Tyr dwells there when he's not in his own realm in Celestia.
Aleolus 07-09-07, 09:12 PM	Thanks. I was wondering, because it struck me that that would be the perfect plane to travel to to level up. Fight till something kills you, then at the end of the day, you're back at full strength!
Hochiu 07-09-07, 09:37 PM	The requisite for entering Valhalla and brawling with the Einherjar is that you're dead. I would think that a mortal (outsider to Ysgard) entering the plane and then fighting against the warriors of Valhalla would just end up with them being dead and travelling to the plane that fits their alignment. Period. Seems like a poor way to "level up".
Aleolus 07-09-07, 09:44 PM	...My understanding was that anyone who had the ability to travel to Ysgard (read, able to travel between planes), could go there, and would receive full benefits of all effects of said plane. Including being resurrected if killed on that plane. Now, my understanding may be flawed.
Hochiu 07-09-07, 09:53 PM	Where did you draw that conclusion? I can't find it in my Manual of the Planes book and a brief skim of the Planar Handbook shows up nothing, either. Deities & Demigods shows only a single blurb about Valhalla which presents it as an explanatory fluff chunk, not saying that the players could join them. I could be wrong, too, so I'm curious.
Aleolus 07-09-07, 10:07 PM	I forget which book I was reading in, but I remember reading that what I posted earlier about anyone who died on that plain being affected by a True Resurrection spell at the end of that day. After saying that, it specifically said that someone who died and then had their soul brought to Ysgard would not be affected in this way, that the person had to have died on Ysgard, and from that I came to the conclusion that it applied to anyone who died on Ysgard.
stclax_26 07-09-07, 11:08 PM	Planes of Chaos, Asgard, p. 113 Special Conditions. Anyone who dies heroically in Asgard - even a player character - is reborn the following day. The Norse powers and valkyries honor brave warriors, and those that're slain in valiant situations wake the next morning in Valhalla. There's two conditions though. First a cutter's got to die heroically. He can't just be cut down in battle; he's got to hew his way through a horde of foes, defending his comrades and shouting battle cries with his last breath. He's got to take on the biggest, meanest, most powerful creature on the battlefield and deliver a deathblow while his life's blood pours onto the plain. A second (or third, or fourth) life's got to be earned. Second, the chance at another life is a gift, but it's not a free one. Like a raise dead spell, a cutter's still got to make a successful resurrection survival check, and she loses a point of Constitution for the privilege. On the other hand, cutters who've proven themselves (either through deeds in their first life or by earning a second chance) are thereafter welcome in Asgard's halls, and counted among the heroes of the plane. If a feat's grand enough for the skalds of Ysgard to sing about, a cutter's proved herself a blood and can hold her head high - until her next defeat, of course. Manual of the Planes, Heroic Domains of Ysgard, p. 90 Minor Positive-Dominant: Ysgard possesses a riotous explosion of life in all its forms. All individuals on a positive-dominant plane gain fast healing 2 and may even regrow lost limbs in time. Additionally those slain in the never-ending conflicts on Ysgard's fields of battle rise each morning as if true resurrection were cast on them, fully healed and ready to fight anew. Even petitioners, who as outsiders cannot be raised, awaken fully healed. Only those who suffer mortal wounds on Ysgard's battlefields get the true resurrection effect; dead characters brought to Ysgard don't spontaneously revive. As DM, I would allow such an event to occur only once for the sake of easy xp and experimentation in mass warfare rules. More than once if events arose during a quest(s) where a PC did in fact die heroically for the group. Short of that, I'm not going to waste the other players time or mine allowing you to get your jollies off easy leveling. Hope that helps! Cheers, Andrew
Bob the Efreet 07-10-07, 03:18 PM	As DM, I would allow such an event to occur only once for the sake of easy xp I'd say that if there's no risk, there's no reward. Now, if the story goes to Ysgard and fights happen there, I can give XP as normal. But I don't allow easy-levelling schemes. I'd allow it as an amusing backstory for a high-level game (My character brawled with einherjar until he was 15th level!) but not as a workable scheme in-game.
stclax_26 07-10-07, 04:27 PM	Apologies, I should have emphasized the mass combat reasoning more. I have never run a game where mass combat rules such as Cry Havoc are used, and am intrigued enough to try them out should a group of PCs ever find themselves in Ysgard. I would insert a fun side-adventure to engage in a battle (i.e.-a drunken einherjar's challenge that escalates, a malfunctioning portal dropping them in media res, the price for information from a jarl they sought out, etc). For their trouble and my bumbling through the system, I would allow them to res and award them xp for their efforts (easy xp, I suppose). That is, of course, should the PCs and their players feel inclined. If not, we would continue along the adventure, resurrecting when deemed heroically appropriate by Ysgard (me) and not for the sake of fun experimenting. Cheers, Andrew
El_Machinae 07-10-07, 04:51 PM	A life of battle will make someone better at battle. Even if it's 'cheap', it works thematically. I guess that eventually you'll run out of things of a worthy CR.
Calmar 07-10-07, 07:10 PM	The other guys should, more or less, get risen, too. That's like fighting summoned things, I guess...
Bob the Efreet 07-11-07, 05:13 PM	A life of battle will make someone better at battle. Even if it's 'cheap', it works thematically. True. So does training and practice-fighting. But you never hear players say "I want to go fight safely at the dojo until I'm level 8."
Aleolus 07-12-07, 05:52 PM	Because "safe" fights take all the fun out of it! Without some danger, it doesn't feel quite the same, and so isn't as satisfying. On Ysgard, you still run the risk of dying in battle, but even after dying, you will be able to come back a bit later. So it's dangerous, but not in a permanent sense.
El_Machinae 07-12-07, 07:28 PM	True. So does training and practice-fighting. But you never hear players say "I want to go fight safely at the dojo until I'm level 8." True. But I rarely get run through the gut by a bastard sword at the dojo.
Paladin_Hiroshi 07-12-07, 07:40 PM	Bah, this is where I disagree with splat books :D If I play it by the DMG ANYONE who dies on Ysgard in battle is affected by a true ressurection, as long as they're not banished, petrified etc. I think it suits it better, you don't get einherjar kicked out because they don't die heroically... although if you're alive, then I tend to have them tested, before they're allowed in. though if they fail, they are true ressurected, and then kicked onto a random plane....
JollyRotten 07-13-07, 11:08 PM	You need to be chosen by a Valkyrie to gain admitance, if not I feel they would just gang up and kick you out. see link Kinda like going to heaven without asking St Peter http://worldsofimagination.com/god%20Valkyrie.htm
ripvanwormer 07-14-07, 01:41 AM	You need to be chosen by a Valkyrie to gain admitance, if not I feel they would just gang up and kick you out. That's true if you're trying to get to Valhalla, but not true for the entire plane of Ysgard. The entire plane isn't under the control of the Norse pantheon; there are free regions unclaimed by any god, and the resurrection effect applies there as well.