Campaign Sourcebook
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Campaign Sourcebook by David “Zeb” Cook Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction. ................. .2 Chapter 8: A Brief Gazetteer . .... Chapter 2: A Mini-Course of Viking History.5 Europe, 9th and loth Centuries.. ......46-47 Chapter 3: Of Characters and Combat .....14 Trelleborg Fortress, Denmark. ...........79 Chapter 4: Rune Magic ................. .33 Stmg Farmhouse, Iceland. ............. .8 Chapter 5: ...And Monsters ............. .43 Trelleborg-style Barracks. .............. .8 Chapter 6: Equipment and Treasure. ...... .57 Denmark and Hedeby ................. .9 Chapter 7: The Vilung Cultur?. ...........69 Longship Deck Plans .................. .9 I I ADVANCED DUNGEONS 6 DRAGONS, ADW FORQOTEN REALMS, Creditr: GREYHMK md DRAGONLANCE ere regwend trademarks owned by TSR. ins. Editina: Newton Ewe11 mers~i.xniaalmdemarkmnedby~w,im. Illustrhons: Ned Dameron wm TSR inc. Ali Rigms ~mwed.Primed in me u.S.4 Typography: Anger*a Lokotz’ Dmributed m the bmk trade in IhB United Ststeg by RBndDm Hw8B inc. and in Cartography: David C. Sutherland 111 Canada by Random HWBBof Canada, Lld. DMribumd m the my and hobby Iraby regiond dabu1M8. Distributedlo the bmk trade In the United Kingdom by RBndom Canlvw Gmup. Di~~hldmIhebmk.gamsandhobbylradeinlheunlled Kinpdm byTSR LUI. Thisbmkiopmtened underfhe~~pyrightiawdlhsUnited StstegofAmrba. Any rspmducfionor unaulh&ed UBB of the materid mmained herein is pmhib ited~houtlhesxpresswrmsnpermirsion~fTSRine. SBmnd Printing: *pdi lesl iSBN 1-580761288 TSR Ltd. 20 Church ma, cnerry Hinton Lake Geneva Cambridge CB13LB WI 53147 U.S.A. TSR, Inc. ‘JNted Kingdom Introduction A Few Wrong Thoughts Vikings wear homed helmets. Sorry, they Most of us are raised believing a lurid, though quite colorful, picture of the fierce Vi- king. This is primarily thanks to Wagner, , comics, Hollywood, and Bullfinchs Mythol- This sourcebook is more than just a setting ogy. While rooted somewhere in a grain of for Vikings in a fantasy campaign; it is a pass- , truth, our popular image of Vikings has be- port into the real world of the Vikings. With I come little more than a cartoon-literally so the material here, DMs and players have a through such strips as Hugar the Horrible, unique opportunity to try a new iole-playing Prince Valiant, and Bugs Bunny forays into experience-historical fantasy adventuring. opera. Before going any further, it is best to Historical fantasy adventuring is just that- put to rest some of the misconceptions: an opportunity for campaigns and adventur- ers to role-play in the real worlds and lands of Vikings loot and piZlage. No one can deny the history. In this sourcebook, players are car- Vikings did loot and pillage, but not every ried back to tenth century Scandinavia. There Norseman was a ravening warrior who lived players can assume roles as Norsemen of vari- to kill and destroy. The people of Scandinavia ous stripes-fighting men, explorers, and included lungs, earls, farmers, shipwrights, skalds, or bards. With the Vikings source- poets, smiths, priests, merchants, and artists. book, players can adventure in a "real" fanta- In fact, the word "Viking" only applies to sy world-the world as the Vikings those Northmen who made a habit of themselves believed it. raiding-"to go a-Viking'' was an expression In addition to warriors and skalds, players that described their voyages. For this book, can become rune-casters, berserkers, or one of Viking refers to all the people of Scandinavia. the ominous troll-born. Their encounters will range beyond history to include clever giants, Vikings are bloodthirsty pagans. At the start magical dwarves, beautiful valkyries, mur- of the great Vilung age (around A.D. SOO), derous berserkers, foul sea ogresses, treacher- there is no question the Vikings were a pagan ous sorcerers, and mythic dragons. They can people. Before the end of their time, however, sail to lands beyond the real world- the Viking nations had converted to Chris- Mirkwood, that separates the world of men tianity. The pagan ways were repressed or, in from the gods; Jotunheim, home of the giants; some cases, added to the Christian tradition. or even to the lands of the gods themselves. Bloodthirsty, well. Wondrous treasures might be theirs for the taking. Vikings are ignorant savages. While those vic- Finally, the Vikings sourcebook can be used tims of the Viking raids saw them as savage, to recreate a Viking setting in other the Vikings developed an impressive culture. campaign worlds. Details on placing and Sagas and poems still remind us of their adapting Viking culture and beliefs to the achievements. They were among the first to FORGOTTEN REALMSO, GREYHAWK@, practice fledgling democracy. Their ships were and DRAGONLANCE" campaigns is given. built with an eye for beauty and were techno- Instructions on adapting the Vikings source- logically superior to anything on the seas at book to the DMs personal campaign is also the time. They founded cities, ruled in foreign provided. 'lands and undertook dangerous sea voyages few others would dare. 2 Chapter One How to Get Started on these as the campaign grows. For those unfamiliar with Viking history The Viking Campaign Sourcebook and (approximately from A.D. 800 to A.D. 1100), a brief overview of the time period, describing AD&D@ 2nd Edition Rules major personalities, events, and trends is This sourcebook is meant to be used with the given in the first chapter, A Mini-Course in AD&D@ 2nd Edition rules. However, the Viking History. Players already familiar with AD&D rules reflect the "realities" of a fantasy the time period can skip this section if they world, not the real world. Therefore, want. This section is not intended to create ex- changes, exceptions, and prohibitions exist in perts in the Viking age, only provide a general these rules that do not apply to a normal fan- background of the period. tasy campaign. (For example, priests are not Before proceeding further, the DM should allowed as player characters in this source- decide what type of campaign he wishes to book.) When playing in a Viking setting, the play. The material in this book is written with rule changes given here should be used. These a historical fantasy campaign in mind - a changes ensure the style and mood of the cam- campaign set in Scandinavia but filled with paign will match the Nordic setting. If there magic, giants, ogres and trolls. If the DM in- are contradictions, the rules found in this tends to use the setting in his own campaign sourcebook take precedence. world, he should make notes or changes as Not all campaigns will use the historical set- needed when he reads. ting given here. In this case, certain rules pre- After choosing his campaign, the DM can sented in this sourcebook may not apply or read through the remaining material. The may need modification. chapters can be read in whatever order the DM desires. Player character information and most game rules are in the first part of the book. Facts and details about the Viking way of life and their world, both real and legend- ary, form the second section of the book. Some players may want to learn about the character classes immediately; others may want first to gain more background on the Vi- king age. Players are encouraged to read the sections that most interest them in whatever order they desire. There is a pull-out map to be used by the players, showing a stylized (and in places in- correct) Viking view of the world. Before beginning a Viking campaign, the DM should read through all the material pre- sented here at least once. When he is ready to begin a campaign, he should use this book as a resource, just as he would any other rulebook or gazetteer. The maps pcovided in the book provide the campaign base and larger area maps of the true world. The DM can expand ti Introduction 3 I I I 4 Chapter One A MiniXourse of Viking History Danes raid Missionaries Danes raid Danes raid IOM, 795 Lothair (Ger.) rebels against father, hires Danish mercenmies 789:And in (King Beorhtric's)days there came ences! Players and DMs who want to learn for the first time three ships of Northmen, more about the Vikings and their times are en- from Horthaland: and tho reeve rode thither couraged to pick up some of the books listed and tried to compel them to go to the royal at the end of this chapter. manor, for he did not know what they were, Although the Norsemen lived in the rocky and they slew him. These were the first ships and cold lands of Scandinavia for millennia, it of the Danes to come to England. was not until the early 800s that they made Anglmo-Saxon Chronicles their presence known to the world. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, raiders in long wooden So came, in blood and violence, the first no- ships descended upon the coasts of England, tice of a new force to Northern Europe-the Scotland, Ireland, and France. Their first no- Vikings. During the next three centuries, the toriety came from a series of raids, primarily sailors from Scandinavia would make their targeting the rich monasteries at Lindisfame, mark raiding, conquering, exploring, and set- Iona, and Jarrow. Soon they were raiding cit- tling from as far east as Constantinople to as ies all along the coast and well inland. far west as Vinland. The raiders came from several northern lands-Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Though they called themselves Vikings, they were referred to by the rest of the world as Nordmanni (Frankish), Dene, Dani (both Anglo-Saxon), Ascommani (Germanic), Finn- gaill, Dubh-gaill, Lochlannach (all Irish), al- l Harold Finehair wins the battle of Hafsfjord \ I Quentoric Bordeaux, Nimes, Arles Danes conquer Charles/ v&gs sack/ P~~~LIIX sacked East Anglia the Fat (Fr..) beseige Paris Vikings driven \ Vikings Paris, Hamburg Paris sacked, from the Vikings beseiged sacked Friesland conquered Loire valley at Angers invade by Rorik the Dane Kent Madjus (Arabic), Rus (Slavic), Rhos (Greek), were too weak individually and too distrust- and Ruotsi (Finnish).