Barbarians: Torvald and their Language
Barbarians: Torvald and their Language
As regards your current questions, let me open by saying that the Northmen are one of my favorite parts of the whole SB lore universe, and that they've gotten the least direct attention. Cutrhic's Saga and the story of the Runestones was quite literally the first piece of Shadowbane Lore I wrote for Wolfpack, and even with all that's come sice, I'm hard pressed to find any of the lore that I'm prouder of, simply in terms of how good the story is.
So, without further ado:
1) Yes, you're absolutely right. Alfar, pukjet, thane, huuskarl, and joten are all actual Viking words. Something like Aurochmenger is just a corruption of "auorchesnmanner," quite literally Oxen Men. I don't tend to stray far - the weltwyrdangssaga derives from Welt (world) wyrd (fate) and saga. Norweigian captures the feel perfectly: I just change a letter or add a sylable here and there for flavor.
2) I would expect that the Invorri treat their women pretty well - the mother of their race, Lashava the Titan of Seas and Storms, is a very feisty, angry demigoddess. Gorss mistreatment of women and children would draw her ire - never a good idea! Again, I'd look to the real Vikings as a model, but do a little research - I think they got better treatment than is typically thought. If I'm not mistaken, women in Viking society could own property (it was rare, but it wasn't forbidden) - they propbably tend to be relegated to the traditional realm of home, hearth, and family, but as in all things, I expect there are exceptions - the Shieldmaiden and Valkyrie are two profoundly cool segments of Norse myth. I'd feel very remiss if our Invorri didn't have their own analogs of them.
3) The promotion classes available to each race is going to be re-evaluated as prt aof general polish before release. Also, I'm thinking that if players wanted to extend the definition of Barbarian out past the Norse Invorri, I'm not too averse to the idea. Minotuars definitely, Aracoix... hmmm not so much.
4) There are lots of stories waiting to be told. They will come, trust me. At some point I hope to put out a general outline of Invorri history (although close scrutiny of the Timelines on the webiste will reveal a lot of it). If ambitious players want to start telling the tales of their own unsung heroes, I say go to! Just try to keep it within the bounds of the Lore as written (in other words, no unknown fourth bearers of Shadowbane, that kind of thing).
5) Torvald is first and foremost a powerful warrior - imagine Thor, basically. Fond of strong drink, honest and honorable, brave to a fault, incredibly strong, and cursed with a wicked temper. He's the epitomoe of everything any decent Northman would want to be. He protected the kingdom of Ardan in the early days, and fought many battle against Giants, Drakes, and even the occasional Elves. He had a pretty big falling out with both his wife and then with King Ardan himself, and in his anger led all the Invorri out of the Blessed Realm to make their own way in the North. He's had countless feuds with Giants, fought a big war against the Dar Khelegur, freed the Mother of Winter (to drive away the Elves) then subdued her again, and all kinds of other stuff. I wouldn't be surprised if he made his way down to the realms of the Dwarves once or twice, or if in his roving he hadn't travelled with Thurin on occasion. He fought tirelessly against the Demon hordes in the War of the Scourge, and with Kenaryn's help smashed Morloch in the War of Ashes, when the Orcs came unto Aerynth. The founders of the Invorri race are all his children. I'm sure, just like Odin, that he sired some others by mortal women - these would be mighty heroes indeed, worthy of songs and sagas.
6) The Northmen started feeling the Rage a long time ago. The pit and the dogs thing is just a myth - in actuality, the Berserk taint has been with the Invorri for a long time. I'd expect that it has a lot to do with Cuthric's feud against Ymur and his sons, and how badly that ended for the Northmen. Of course, there's another possibility: the Invorri were not smashed by the Blood Curse the way the rest of Humanity was (they weren't in Ardan at the time). Maybe the spell still had some effect on them, however, and the frenzy still lingers in their very blood...
7) Dwarf Giant Killers do pretty well against just about anything - they honed their martial skills fighting Giants, but the techniques they use work agains tanything taller than they are...
8) I've divulged a LOT here - my window is closing. More will come later!
M
