Great White Games/Pinnacle Entertainment Group

[grubman]

I’ve been in love with the idea of a modest fantasy spin on historical Vikings, Norse mythology, and the Dark ages ever since I saw the 13th warrior movie.

My group has pretty much settled on using Savage Worlds as our go-to system, and I’m going to get into the rotation with a Viking based campaign I’ve been tossing around for some time.

Since I’m notorious for going ...er…overboard when preparing and playing a game, I decided to start another long thread that starts with the development and prep of the game, the “toys” I prepare for my games, the characters my players develop, and then some actual play reports that tell the story as it progresses and develops.

In essence, this is sort of a development blog that will turn into an actual play. It’s a place where I can share all my work with more people than my group of 5, brag about things that go well, and lament when things go wrong. I hope you enjoy.

[grubman]

Rules & Resources

The first thing to do was decide on what rules book and resources I was going to use. The rules book was pretty easy. I decided to stick with my old faithful Savage Worlds Revised edition. My entire group (other than me) actually has the Explorers edition, but I love my old hardcover. I know it like the back of my hand, and it serves all my purposes. If I encounter any major problems with all the players using the Explorers edition, I suppose I’ll be forced to “upgrade” but, I’m not worried about it.



As far as choosing a main Vikings sourcebook, I decided to focus on Gurps Vikings (1st edition). Since there was no written history of the Viking Age by the Vikings themselves, history is a bit shaky in many areas. Educated opinions vary wildly as to what is true and what isn’t. If I tired to use too many sources, or even just the internet, my brain would explode with the sheer volume of information (and conflicting information).

Gurps Vikings is fairly concise, and covers all the basic areas a gamer needs to run a Viking based campaign. Not only that, but it organizes it in a manner that a gamer can use (as opposed to history books). I’ll have to research a bit deeper using other sources in certain areas (like mythology) but for the most part I’m going to use this book as my main sourcebook.

[grubman]

The Setting

I wrote up a 4 page Players Guide and sent it out to my players to prep them for the adventure. This included some basic setting information (presented below) and notes on playing a Viking & creating a character for the campaign. Here is the setting information:

Lo, there do I see my father.
Lo, there do I see my mother, my sisters and my brothers.
Lo, there do I see the line of my people back to the beginning.
Lo, they do call to me.
They bid me take my place on Asgard in the halls of Valhalla,
Where the brave may live forever.

The Mistland Saga is a Viking adventure which combines history and fantasy. In this campaign, Norse society and ideology are very much the same as they were in real history. Religious beliefs (Norse mythology, with encroaching Christianity) and historical timelines are also very much the same (the campaign takes place around 855). The main difference is that the campaign takes place on a fictitious continent where Nordic inspired monsters, magic, and some myth are real. These fantastic elements are presented in moderation and should be as frightening to the characters as it would be if confronted in the real world.

Mistland



Mistland lies between Norway and Iceland. It was discovered by Norwegians around 851 (about a decade before Iceland). It was named Mistland because the barren mountainous interior of the main landmass is blanketed in a heavy mist, which is said to be caused by the constant feud between the fire giants to the south and the Ice giants to the north.



Many Norwegians have begun a migration to the more hospitable southern islands (which even have some trees and small forests) and the eastern coast of Mistland where the land level is lower. This has forced the Pict natives, small dark-skinned savages, into the island interiors. The Pict are ferocious and numerous, but unorganized for the most part.

There is no king of Mistland, although each island (considered a herred with its own Thing) has an appointed Jarl, even if his entire holding is a single farmstead. Most settlements are single, or multilple, family farmsteads. A few small towns have cropped up, and some Jarls have had fortresses built, usually to guard against the native Picts or feuding clans.

The interiors of the islands remain mostly unexplored, while the main mountainous landmass remains a complete mystery. The abundance of Trolls (of various size) and the Picts make exploration particularly difficult. The western shore is a sheer cliff surrounded by jagged reefs, and none who have sailed there have explored far without meeting an untimely demise.

Trade is conducted along the wide rivers-seas that flow between the island masses, and with the European countries as normal. Pirates, savage Pict, or Troll attacks are not unheard of on these secluded waters. Other unsavory things, such as savage fish-men, sea serpents, and giant crabs are said to live in the many reefs and underwater caves.

[grubman]

Game Master Aids

Why be ordinary when you can be extraordinary? It’s been a while since I geared up to run Savage Worlds but, one of the great things about the game is the fact that it has TOYS! The more toys, the more fun I have prepping for the game.

This post deals with the 3 main game aids of any SW GM, the GM screen, the playing cards, and the bennies.

GM Screen

I wanted some cool inserts for my SW GM scrren that really portrayed the kind of game I was going to run. Since I’m not selling it or anything, I felt free to borrow artwork from any source I could find online. Well, I was surprised at just how hard it was to find some good fantasy Viking artwork online. I literally sifted through over 100 pages of google images.

I was about to give up when I found these images from an artist named Will Beck. The images were actually from his sketch book but, to be honest I loved the art and style even more than his finished works (which are awesome as well). Not only did I love the art and style, but the images are perfect for what I had in mind. The black crow on the one Vikings shield even inspired me to add it to the shield of one of the arch enemies in the campaign.

Here is the screen, thanks Will Beck:



Playing Cards

Finding genre related cards for this campaign was perhaps harder than any other I’ve ever attempted. Fortunately I love the deck I did find. They were a little expensive (from Iceland, via eBay) and are a little smaller than Magic cards, and thiner and flimsier as well, but, I love the art, and you can’t get more genera specific than Nordic Gods.



Bennies

Ah bennies, gotta love little things you and your players can throw at each other across the game table! This was a no brainer, Rune Stones. These are carved in Hematite. They are just a little smaller than I was hoping, but they are fine. Not only that, but they look awesome in the small dice tray I carved a few years ago (and rarely use). I’m thinking about getting some matching Hematite dice (as if I haven’t spent enough already), but I can’t find any with gold numbers.



Tomorrow I’ll show you the Viking ship I’m making for the game!

[GreenTongue]

Three Thumbs Up!
=

[grubman]

[GranFalloon]

[Sean-Khan]

Sounds very promising, and I can believe how those props can build the atmosphere, they are quite excellent! Looking forward to read more!

[chugosh]

Verily nifty!

[mongo]

For more inspiration, I present the lyrics for "I Am A Viking" by Yngwie Malmsteen. Look this up on Youtube or something. An awesome song to go with your awesome campaign idea.

***
I am a Viking, I'm going out to war
I've got death upon my mind
As I was leavin' oh yesterday
I've got no fear in my heart

As the shores of my home disappear
I sail over the sea without fear
Dragonships are charging through the waves
Just want to sail away, far away, into the sea yeah

I am a warrior my mind is set to kill
Life or death is on the line
I am a slayer and you will taste my steel
I've got your life right in my hand

As the shores of my home disappear
I sail over the sea without fear
Dragonships are charging through the waves
Just want to sail away, far away, into the sea yeah

You are a loser and it's such a shame
That you're a fool and you don't know
That I'm a viking, and I'll walk all over you
And by my sword you will die

As the shores of my home disappear
I sail over the sea without fear
Dragonships are charging through the waves
Just want to sail away, far away, into the sea yeah

[grubman]

[scourger]

This game looks very cool. I'll look forward to reading more of it.

[scourger]

Also, I recommend reading "Eaters of the Dead", the Michael Crichton novel on which The 13th Warrior movie was based. It was reprinted as The 13th Warrior, so sometimes you find it that way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eaters_of_the_Dead

[grubman]

[grubman]

28mm scale Viking Ship!

So the players will have a ship. How else are they going to traverse all those islands and create their saga?

They actually have a Viking Knarr, which isn’t the traditional Drakkar most people think of when they think Viking. A Knar is smaller and can be run with a much smaller crew of 4-6, and since I have 5 players that works out perfect.

Be forewarned: The ship I constructed is for miniature role playing purposes. It’s not 100 percent historically accurate (although he proportions of the cargo bay to the length of the ship are actually fairly accurate), or to scale. Most Knarr were slightly smaller, and the sail should be larger. There should be many more riggings and boards and a steering oar (and possibly 3 or 4 sets of oars for some Knarr). Most importantly, most Drakkar didn’t actually have dragon heads, and a Knarr certainly didn’t…but I thought it would look cooler, so I made mine with one. So, it is what it is.

The coolest thing about this ship is I built it all from scrap I had laying around. It didn’t cost me one cent that hadn’t already been invested for some other project.

Step One: Draw a template

This is where most people stop. In fact, this is the map I was going to use for the ship in the game. After I drew it I showed it to my wife and asked, “So, should I just use this or make something better?” Knowing me, she just rolled her eyes and walked away, knowing the answer already.



Step Two: Cut Some Wood

I actually saw a woodcarver do something similar once, so this wasn’t totally improvised. I cut a base for the ship and, using the template I made, cut the 3 pieces of wood that would make up the ship. I cut the thick boards at an angle so when I attached the sides they would bow like a boat.



Step Three: Carve Some Boards

Using a wood carver, I cut some grooves into the wood to create planks on the ship deck. The particleboard was a little uncooperative…but, again, it was free.



Step Four: Glue it Down

No witty commentary here, I just used regular Elmer’s glue to attach it to the base.



Step Five: Trimmings & Cargo

While the deck was drying, I used a jig saw to cut the stem and stern. Nothing really fancy, but I did decide to cut the dragon head at the last moment. I also took some small craft items I had left over from other projects and painted them up to look like barrels and crates for cargo.





Step Six: The Sail

I made the mast and sail out of some dowels and one of my daughters old T-shirts. The dowels are from a rummage sale sign that was in the garage, and the T-shirt was in the rummage sale “pile”. I’ll have to replace the one from the sign before my wife notices…but that T-shirt wasn’t even sellable for a nickel!

I built the mast with glue and wire, and drenched the sail in glue. The material didn’t work as well as other material would have, but it did the trick. I left that to dry while I worked on the deck again.





Step 7: The Ship Gunwales

Gunwales? I think that’s the proper name for the walls of the Viking ship? In any case, I was sort of stumped as to how to do this at first. Hardboard is too rigid, and I don’t like working with balsa at all. Cardboard is crap.

In the end I got the brilliant (opinions may differ) idea to use oven dry clay. After rolling out a strip to the right thickness, I carved some boards into the side (although I should have carved the boards into both sides), put them on, and cut them to the right side…but they didn’t stick to the wood!! I ended up having to glue them and hold them with various things I had laying around until dry enough to put in the oven and bake! Yep, I got to bake the ship (again, my wife with the rolling eyes!?)




Step 8: Assembly

Well, that was really it; all I had to do was glue on the mast and it’s ready to paint.



Step 9: Paint er Up!

After a quick paint job it’s finished. I was surprised at how well and fast this whole project went. It only took one evening (and I had a few C&Cs while building it), and the next morning to finish it up. If I didn’t have to let glue dry I could have had it finished in the single evening.

I’m really happy with the ship, and I think it’s going to greatly enhance the ship sequences in the game. Much better than a paper map.



Now hopefully I’ll get my Viking miniatures in the mail soon so I can start painting them before the first game session next week!

[Sean-Khan]

Now we're talking! I love miniatures, terrain and other props, keep the photos coming

And darn you grubman, I really don't have too much time now and you made me want to have a customized card set of my own - and now I started to make them myself!

[Lord Lance]

[Strickland5]

Lord Lance
Played Diablo 2 recently have we?
_________________
--Andrew--
"No man is so good as to be free from all evil,
nor so bad as to be worth nothing."

[Fury]

That ship is awesome, and using runestones for bennies is a great idea. What miniatures are you using?

If you are looking for more inspiration, I can recommend the The Long Ships by Frans G. Bengtsson.
_________________
"We are the Queen's shield. We are the nation's shield."
—Sir Nicholas Fury, 1602

[grubman]