Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 sithlore Aug 18, 2008 16:33:35	ok, so here's a world idea I came with after a couple of time trying to design a well known mythological world: -The basic place of this campaign is Scandinavia, near the time of the end of the roman empire, but classic element of the D&D world can be found. -There is some rare settlement, monsters are everywhere but not really known about( example: their name, culture, origin, etc.) -There is more than one playable race. Each race is isolated from the other, except for some trading contact. -Magic and gold are rare things, so the players will have to cling to what they find in the treasures because there is no magic shop at the corner of the alley. -There are classic gods like: Odin(N), war, magic, wisdom Thor(N), heroism, honor, thunder Loki(E), Thievery, cowardice, wealth, darkness Hel(E), Death, Magic Christian God(LG), Retribution, Purity, Light Satan(Evil), Destruction, Perversion, Sins. Here are the playable race and a brief description of their place in the world: Humans: Proud warriors that fight to survive both the fury of the wilderness and the evil that lurk in the shade of the night. Dwarves: Distant cousins of the giants as the legends says, they live under mountains are only come in contact of humans to trade weapon and mineral in exchange of wood. Dragonborns: Magical offspring of dragons tamed by the wizards of the roman empire, they serve as the shock troops of the Roman Catholic Church in the fight againts paganism and to help protect and convert the weak. Eladrins and elves: Mysterious creature coming from another realm of existence, these creatures hide their true nature from humans and venture into this world out of curiosity. Tiefling: Offsprings of demons and humans, the tieflings are feared by alls. It is said that the Legendary Merlin was one of them. Playable Class: Cleric: That they serve the Norse Gods or the Christian God, clerics serve as pillar of hope to those that fear the darkness. Fighters: The most common class, these warriors can be either would-be tyrants or proud heroes. Paladin: Knights of the Holy Roman Church fighting for the glory of the Christian God. Rangers: also called berserkers by the scandinavians people, these warriors live in the wilderness were they can exprime their inner savagery. Rogues:Consideredlie cowards by the scandinavians warriors, rogues are thief and assassin that revere gold and the god Loki. WarlockOnly Infernal one avaible). Demonic adepts of the Black Arts, they give a bad name to anyone that can use magic. Warlord: In a world of brutal and fierce war, there must always be someone to decide where, when and how this war will be fought. Wizards: Students of the Arcanes, they are almost extinc in the Roman Empire, non-existant in the scandinavian people. But there is still plenty of them in the people of the fey. So, what do you think of it till now?
#2 tgncomics Aug 18, 2008 16:56:31	Satan(Evil) i'd replace Satan with Hel(E) the Norse goddess of the underworld, Eladrins and elves: Mysterious creature coming from another realm of existence, these creatures hide their true nature from humans and venture into this world out of curiosity. eh... you might want to give them more of a back story, the other ones are great. Playable Class: i wouldn't limit classes on religion, a worshiper of Odin could be a Paladin too. And I'm noticing a lack of ranger and rouge... intentional? and if there are vikings there must be a Krakken; twice now the krakken has been an epic battle for me (once as a player then as the DM) and we weren't even in a viking setting. the best thing about norse mythology is all the huge and powerful monsters it comes with. Nidhogg anyone?
#3 sithlore Aug 18, 2008 20:17:49	Satan was an idea to counterpart the christian god and also to give Orcus a representation in this world. Do you know a link wich could give me more info on Hel, I will surely need more info on Gods and Goddess of the Norse mytho. The rogue and ranger class seemed a little odd for this setting. With both know that the norse people were mostly warriors and conquerors, and why the hell do a Roman thief would like to go in a backwater region like scandinavia? The ranger seemed a little weird, I know the idea of wilderness and winter seems good, but in a viking campaign? mmm... I'm gonna think about it. The krakken is absolutly in the campaign idea of course.
#4 stinkeye Aug 18, 2008 20:40:04	Looks very cool so far. You can't go wrong with Vikings. As far as classes go, I agree that there is no need to limit them. Loki, one of the most prominent gods in the Norse pantheon, is a Rogue through and through. A Brutal Scoundrel would be right at home alongside his more heavily armored comrades on a raid on an English monastery. Additionally, if you're going to have Norsemen, you need some Berserkers, and I cant think of a better Berserker than a 2-weapon Ranger, wading through battle and tearing up his enemies with no regard for his personal safety (or low AC).
#5 thewhateverslayer Aug 18, 2008 20:42:02	I like several of the concepts you have shown. Idea Though ..... Food for thought, as far as your pantheon goes. If you are solely using Scadonavia as a foundation for your setting then actually using Scadonavia itself, I would consider referencing the Norse and even Greek Pantheons. To find Gods and Goddesses that you like mold them to your own setting. Then give then some fresh background information (something new) A new name and you have your own Gods/Goddesses and you can still stay true to your own ideas. This will help you to understand your pantheon better because you made it your own. Also keep it simple at first 5-10 dieties otherwise you will spend all your time developing your pantheon and nothintg more. As far as finding what you need concerning information on the dieties, Simply type that into your search engine the internet is packed with info for you quick easy and free. Wikapedia is a great starting resourse.
#6 tgncomics Aug 18, 2008 21:04:50	both ranger and rouge have their places in norse mythology, stinkeye pointed out that loki (the trickster) worshipers will be loving rouges the wild wilderness of Scandinavia is a wonderland for rangers. and for gods go here or wiki and you can use both hel and satan, but you should definitely throw some greek gods in there like T.W.S. said. definitely go and look for the lesser known Norse myths too. the midgrad serpent? the great sword balmung? the giant Geirrod?!? it's just so packed full of possibility's!
#7 goblin_pride Aug 19, 2008 5:39:42	Don't forget to look into the Finnish Pantheon as well. Tapio and Mielikki are the gods of nature and the hunt from Finland. And then there's the Finnish version of goblins, the Metsan Vaki....
#8 jasca Aug 19, 2008 6:42:37	Try to get some of these comics to your hands, for they are very good viking fantasy with some scifi elements: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorgal_Aegirsson
#9 methanegranola Aug 19, 2008 9:17:58	Also keep it simple at first 5-10 dieties otherwise you will spend all your time developing your pantheon and nothintg more. oh man do i agree with that one, that has happened to me twice, i get super excited about making a new setting, and the lose steam after creating a 20 god pantheon, some times i would make a pantheon of gods i needed to make, id get bored before i even made them but uh, if you could get your hands on the 3.0 book dieties and demi gods, has pretty much the whole norse and greek pantheons. then you wouldnt even have to worry about making your own, you already have like 100 of them (give or take) that book even has egyptian for a really far reaching campaign probably worth reading if you can get it cheap
#10 ViolenceJack Aug 19, 2008 10:31:45	I'm going to be using the Norse gods in my campaign setting too, and one thing I've been thinking about is: are they really "Good" in the D&D sense? I tend to think of Odin and Thor more as Unaligned. Freyja/Frigg (Odin's wife) might be good, and some others. Baldr certainly, Tyr could be LG (sacrificed his hand to bind Fenris). The Greek/Roman pantheon would be good competitors for worshipers. I'd treat them similarly. Zeus is far too selfish to be Good; he's more Unaligned. Cases could be made for some of the others being Good, but in general they're kind of selfish and petty.
#11 werral Aug 19, 2008 19:31:57	There was an old 2E Vikings Campaign book which you could mine for fluff, also 1E's Deities and Demigods (AKA Legends and Lore) has Viking and Classical gods (among others). You might want to knock out some rules for longships and at mid-high level the party may command their own and lead it far afield (the Vikings reached North America and I saw a Nationl Geographic doc which said that "Scrylings" described in one late Viking epic were possibly Native Canadians) Viking myths of dwarfs were more magical beings than D&D's, I think Duegar and Drow are actually based on Scandinavian myth though I may be wrong.