dragons.

in the northlands true dragons are the stuff of legend. the last dragon was believed to have been killed by the half-blood giant, Dwall Fredrickson around 100 years ago. Dwall spent 25 years hunting for the last dragon and its immense hoard, rumoured to have been stated when the world was young. dwall finally tracked the dragon to its mountain lair and killed it in a week long battle that reduced the mountain to dust. dwall and the dragons hoard were never seen or heard of again.

the dragons of today are considered by most to be lesser forms of the huge serpents that once roamed the land.
they breath fire, ice, poisonous fumes, even showers of deadly shards of rock, or other fearsome attacks. all have thick scales of one colour or and other. some even have wings. as you can see they take may forms but all share a passion for wealth and the hoarding of gold and other valuable items.
it is said that someone who constantly puts wealth or their own needs before their friends and family will, over time become a dragon. slowly changing until there is no trace of their former self though some small shred of personalty may remain.
this curse was, it is claimed, unleashed on the world as the last dragon lay dying. with its final ragged breath the beast cursed Dwall Fredrickson and all other greedy self centred people of the world to become dragon-like.

life, death, and fates worse than death.

in the northland sagas plays are able to build settlements, start families, die glorious death during adventures and even turn into foul dragons if they become greedy selfish hoards. but what happens if your character does die? is that the end? well no its not. sometimes are heroes will return for a short time to carry on and try to finish what they started. plus players will be able to enter the afterlife with dead characters or gen up a new character, kill them and then carry on in the northlands underworld. they will face new dangers and challenges in the after life as they are tested as never before. if you think the living have it hard wait till you see what the dead have to deal with. the 9 hells are not for the timid. only the greatest and most worthy of the dead will be able to claim a seat at the table of heroes in the everhall. are you ready enter a realm of eternal battle and strife where the dead fight for glory and fame. explore the nine hells for as long as you are worthy or suffer the wrath of the gods and be cast out into the void.

added some more place names.

also a quick word on animals. there will be beasts that can be used as mounts like the pony and horse. the horses are not much bigger than ponies but are famed for their stamina as well as their foul tempers. some even tame bears to ride, a fearsome sight in battle!

more soon.

what path would follow in the northlands. do you want to be a great hero, looking to help people, no matter what the cost, willing to lay down your life for others.

or would you like to tread a darker path and become overlord of all. looking to take from others to further your own ends, willing to kill and maim to get your own way.

well the northlands saga is what I like to call an open setting, as in you you do what YOU want. there is a story in the form of plot points that will crop up from time to time but you are free to do as you please.

you can face the horrors of the north, slay them and free the people. thus making the world a better place.

or...

you can face the horrors of the north, slay them and take their place and rule the world with a fist of iron.

or you could do something else. the only limit is your imagination!

character death in the northland sagas.

the death of a character is lets be honest a sad event and often unwelcome. but is the northlands is as much a part of the setting as anything else.

why, well it open up reasons to try different characters (thats the same as all other RPG'S) but is the Northlands you can take one of your children as a new character and carry on.

when a character dies they may get a chance to come back for a short time or when everyone has at lest one dead character the game could take place in the underworld.

just because a character dies in the northlands sagas does not mean its the end of the road for that character. far from from it! the dead are as much a part of the setting as the living (it is a horror setting after all LOL!)

I for one will look forward to my characters dying when I play it. as I would like to see what the afterlife holds in store when someone else is running the game.

more soon.

settlements.

where you call home is important. if you live in a settlement you will have a safe place to live as well as a number of other benefits.

settlements can be built up, a bit like characters. they will have edges and hindrances too.

more on this soon.

just a quick update on the rules for the setting.

the following skills will not be used:
1, piloting. (no aircraft in this setting)

the following edges will not be used:
1, all the arcane backgrounds. (the northlands sagas has its own magic users.)
2, rock and roll! (there are no firearms in this setting so this is useless)
3, power points. (arcane backgrounds do not use power points)
4, rapid recharge. (arcane backgrounds do not use power points)
5, improved rapid recharge. (arcane backgrounds do not use power points)
6, soul drain. (arcane backgrounds do not use power points)
7, ace professional edge. (no planes or other aircraft)
8 gadgeteer professional edge. (no way of making gadgets of other modern gizmo's)
9, mentalist professional edge. (the northlands sagas has its own magic users.)
10, wizard professional edge. (the northlands sagas has its own magic users.)
11, power surge. (arcane backgrounds do not use power points)

the following hindrances will not be used:
1, doubting Tomas. (this may be left in but for now I'm not using it)

more soon.

races of the northlands:

players may take any of the following,

human. characters generated following the rules found in the savage worlds rule book.

half-blood. a mix of human and non human parents has given rise to a race of often unwanted and hated half breeds.
pick one of the following heritages and its strength (weak, minor, major or severe). you will then pick a number of racial edges, and hindrances to balance the edges depending on your heritages strength.

all half-blood characters start with the Outsider (Minor) Hindrance. they do not gain a free edge as humans do. once you have taken racial edges and the hindrances to balance the edges out follow the rules for generating characters as found in the savage worlds rule book. and points gained from the normal amount of hindrances may be spent on half-blood edges or used to buy off any racial hindrance already taken.

half-blood heritages:
dwarf.
troll.
giant * (pick from deformed, frost, earth, or fire).
elf.
ogre.

each type of half-blood heritage has a list of racial edges and hindrances to pick from. there are also 4 types of giant to pick from and each type has a number of edges and hindrances that only a character of that type can take.

more soon.

the wilds, always filled with danger for the foolish and unwary, now seems to be even more hazardous. once settled areas are seeing a rise in all manner of creatures. rumour has it that creatures not usually encountered in some areas are being driven from their usual haunts by something far to the north. what could have such hardy and fearless creatures on the move is as yet unknown.
as time goes by more and more are gathering in human lands. some settlements have even been attacked. it is only a matter of time before some of the more isolated norlander communities fall to theses unwelcome interlopers.
something must be done about it, and soon!

"that my son, was part of Geld the Caller's speech to the elders and lords gathered in the great hall at summers meet last year. Geld was found next morning, hacked apart and his ragged parts hung high like bloody rags from a tree, not far from the main gate.
needless to say the rest of that meet was utter chaos. marred by bickering and indecisiveness. Geld had his enemies like anyone, but a year on nothing has been done about the creatures freely roaming our lands or Geld's gruesome and untimely death. with this years meet fast approaching many fear that old feuds will shed more blood as people seek to take revenge for Caller's death. so take care this year, go well armed and take only your most trusted men. but keep a level head as I don't want to bury what's left of you!"

legends of the northlands.

there are many tales told of men and beast. halls across the land fall silent when the story teller recites these sagas of the mighty and the fallen. often they are also moral lessons on how to act or in some of the darker, more sinister tales, how not to act. foolish are those who ignore the warnings and advice contained within.

there are those who have a talent for story telling and will ofen travel the length and breadth of the northlands to entertain and teach using the art of the spoken word asking for nothing in return save a willing audience.

these travelling word smiths are greatly respected by all. as payment they are fed, given shelter and other rewards depending on their tale telling skills.

at the summer meet and other major gatherings word smiths swap tales and take part in the tellers challenge. the story deemed the most entertaining, be it true or not is entered into the great book. this huge tome, leather bound and as large as a shield contains the greatest tales and must be memorised by all those who wish to become a word smith of any note.

the tellers challenge has been know to last many days as it only ends when the last tale can not be bettered or the speakers voice fails them. the longest contest was many years ago and lasted 11 days. in the end the two remaining speakers agreed between them to end and allow the meet to finish, there was no winner but many new tales were told and still do the rounds to this day.

the winterwolf.
there are many tales told of this beast. the winterwolf is said be a grey wolf of great size, strength and savagery. many have claimed to have heard the howls and the raking of her claws at their door but few if any have seen the winterwolf and lived.

this Alphena wolf runs with no pack but it is said that she will mate with the strongest alpha male in order to give birth to a litter of short lived cubs, known as storm-pups. these wolves are quick to mature and share their mothers furious nature. but after a month or two fade to smoke with one last blood chilling howl.

the winterwolf and her cubs hunt the cold, hungry, and lost out in the wilds. tales tell of this beast and her savage bloodthirsty offspring testing a door here and a wall there to see if those lucky to have shelter during the harshest winter have done all they should have to see the winter through. any unlocked door or weakness in the structure is considered an invite to the winterwolf and kin to enter and feed on those within in an orgy of unforgiving bloodletting.

so stock up your winter larder well and do those repairs when you should to keep the winterwolf from your door.

the shape of the world.

most northlanders, be they human or half-blood believe the world is flat and round. the seas are fed by the everfalls to the north and drain off the worlds edge to the south. the stars above are set in the hide of the first dragon by the gods to guide the way at night, the dragon, a mighty beast slain by the goods to form the world, its body was used to make the earth. it is belived that the dragon sleeps and dreams of when it will awake to take revenge on the gods and all those who follow them. at times the beast lashes out in its sleep and the earth moves as it acts out the final battle during fitful dreams.

the sun and the moon are lesser gods who watch over the earth, taking turns to see if the dragon father is close to waking.

when the dragon rises from its sleep the earth will crack and rise, the sky will fall as the sun and moon vanish and the final battle will reshape the world.

you may not want to be part of a settlement. not everyone lives within the safety of a village. bands of nomads roam the land setting up camp where they see fit. many are outcasts, both human and half-blood, wanted for crimes committed in the past, forced to come together and live in the wilds. these groups visit settlements for a short time to stock up on supplies before heading out into the wild once more before those around them learn of their past misdeeds.

others are part of clans that have always lived this way. these "wild folk" or nomads are free roaming close nit communities. they travel the northlands in caravans drawn by teams of large work horses or wild mountain bears that they have some how been able to tame. when the snow is deep they are fixed with long wooden or metal runners, turning them into huge sleds. the caravans come in all shapes and sizes. these are the nomads homes and sometimes places of work as some are built around small forges of stone. they are all painted and have banners hung from them to show their clans history and the deeds of those who own them.

there is another group of nomads that sail the unforgiving northland seas. these small fleets of long ships are hated and feared. these sea dwelling nomads think nothing of raiding a settlement and taking what they want, be it food, weapons or children to raise as slaves. any of these black hearted raiders that are found on dry land are put to the sword with no public hearing.

this is work in progress and need a lot of work but wanted to post it to show you how thing are going.

settlement/caravan main stats,

population. (how many people live there)

resources. (things like wood, stone, food, iron, etc)

defence. (walls, earth works, and the land the site is on)

trade. (what the site can make money from)

secondary stats:

wilderness threat (the level of danger in the area around the site)

moral. (the hope and courage of the people at the site)

edges and hindrances. (start with one free edge, more can be added but must take hindrances to even them out)

note: settlements and caravans can pick from a number of edges and hindrances that are the same but also have some that only they can take to reflect the strengths and weaknesses of each.

gods of the northlands.

like the Norse gods of our world there will be a great many gods but will be using different names.

will post some names and info about the gods soon.