Forums New posts Search forums. What's new New posts New profile posts Latest activity. Users Current visitors New profile posts Search profile posts. Log in Register. Search titles only. Search Advanced search…. New posts. Search forums. Log in. RPGnet stands with Black Americans in the fight for rights, safety, and justice. In the last year the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community has increasingly been the target of hate and violence, with the recent shooting being only the most recent and horrific example.
RPGnet stands in solidarity with that community. We all have an obligation to stand up against racism and bigotry in all its forms. JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding. Recommend a Viking game.
I'm after a game that's fairly realistic. I don't mind fantasy elements, but we'd like the setting to be fairly historically accurate as far as Viking society is concerned. In particular, religion needs to be pretty accurate — for certain values of "accurate". For example, we'd be totally happy with a game that treated the Viking view of the supernatural as real. If Viking lore allowed for gods to intervene in human affairs, it would be perfectly fine for that to happen in the game.
With the above stipulations, Harn would be eliminated. A reader for the format is available for free use the " Viewer Downloads " link on the Navigation bar. RQ rulebook Player's version. RQ rulebook Full version. Character Sheets Possibly no original design in an RPG gets modified quite as much as the character sheet. Different players and groups may have a different emphasis to the designer of the original sheet, but whatever the case, there are usually many different designs to be had.
If you have a better or just different RQ 2nd ed. The first Character Sheet listed below is basically the original, with the addition of a coloured header to tie it in visually with this site and thus my own Runequest game material. The second character sheet, the one linked to below, is my own creation. It is an Excel sheet and strongly based on the old 2nd ed. Mike's RQ character sheet. Maps The original book included a two-page map of the area of Dragon's Pass, which I have crudely cropped and pasted to give the single page map below.
Other supplements have expanded upon this map, and I have drawn my own more detailed maps to accompany scenarios. I like the classic RQ 2nd ed. In addition, I have added a few Houserules to better mould the game to my preferred way of gaming: 1. Strike Rank SR is the value that determines when your blow or action occurs; the lower the SR, the faster you go. The strength and power of the Franks was legendary; thus many Vikings avoided the Frankish coastline, preferring to raids easier targets.
Once Charlemagne died however, his empire began to slowly fracture over the succeeding decades. Finally between and the Vikings began attacking Frisia and Aquitaine, slowly growing in confidence. Eventually realising that no organised resistance existed, from onwards the raiders began founding permanent settlements along the coast. The destabilising threat of raids encouraged local rulers to pay off the invaders in exchange for moving on.
This tactic worked but proved to be cripplingly expensive in the long term, the chance of earning tribute only encouraging larger raiding fleets to return in subsequent years.
In Paris was raided for the first time and forced to pay a large tribute of 7, pounds of silver, only to be raided again in and Between and the Vikings grew bolder yet, blazing a path of utter destruction on shrinking Frankish soil. Ultimately, finding no other way to prevent the sea wolves from ravaging his kingdom, King Charles the Simple offered the lands around Rouen to the Norwegian Viking leader Hrolfr the Ganger in exchange for protecting the Franks against all future raiding.
The clever move worked, using one set of Vikings to guard against the others. To seal the bargain, Hrolfr was baptised and became known as Rollo, whilst the dukedom was renamed Normandy or land of the North men.
Over the next couple of centuries Rollos descendents continued to rule the province, slowly adding to its boundaries and even raiding far off lands in Italy. The future William the Conqueror is of direct lineage from this Viking leader.
The motivation of these expeditions was trade, initially exchanging goods across the Baltic. Once traders became aware of the market opportunities further south, they began using the major rivers of eastern Europe to transport goods between the Baltic and the Black Sea, where lay mighty Byzantium, or Miklagard as the Vikings named it.
The Vikings who travelled these regions were called Varangians, which simply meant sea-farers. From the mid eighth century many Varangians settled in the important inland trading post of Ladoga, which lay on the Volkov River that connected it to Novgorod.
Eventually trade was supplemented with raids and during the Varangians extracted servile tribute from the coastal Finnic and Slavic tribes. All too soon these extortions drove the tribes to rebel against the raiders. In the Varangian Rus were forced back to Scandinavia but the tribes bickered amongst themselves, resulting in the Varangians being invited back to enforce peace.
The chief amongst the Varangian Rus was Rurik and he took up the reins of authority, ruling over the region. In addition to controlling Ladoga and the Byzantine trade routes, he founded a new settlement named Holmgard near Novgorod, which he decreed as the capital of the Rus lands, eventually to become known as Russia.
Over the next few centuries the Varangians intermarried with the local Slavic tribes, gradually losing their Scandinavian roots. Many Varangians sailed up the Volkov, Lovat and Dnieper rivers creating new settlements or conquering existing towns along the trade route. The greatest threat faced by traders was the nomadic Pecheneg who often attacked boats as they were portaged around seven sets of rapids on the Dnieper River.
In Prince Oleg, Ruriks successor, launched an attack on Kiev, an important town half way along the trade route, which was under the control of two Varangian leaders Askold and Dir.
After capturing the town, Oleg moved the Rus capital there, where it remained until when the nomadic Pechenegs tried to destroy it but were forced to retire after a fruitless siege. The Baltic regions provided high quality timber suitable for ship building, exotic furs, uniquely flavoured honey, slaves and amber. Scandinavia produced high quality iron ingots, armour, weapons, wool and carved wooden or ivory handicrafts.
Byzantium in return offered spices, glass tableware, dyed silks and linens, wine, gold and silver. Thus it is often wise to treat a vagrant with respect, since you never know what they are capable of or to whom they might be related to!
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