Player Characters

         The campaign (starting in August 2001) is set on a Vinlander homestead, "Brigjafael", on the west side of the Hudson about 30 miles north of Manhattan, at a break in the steep cliffs were a small peninsula juts out into the river. The PCs are all related to the family there. The primary PCs are:

Thorgerd / Thorfinn the Lucky (Laura Henry)

Thorfinn the Lucky was known as the recently-returned son of Thord Audsson, who had been outlawed many years earlier for witchcraft and went to live in the wilderness with his wife. A plucky 17-year-old at the time, he sought to avenge his parents and restore their name. It came out later that Thorfinn had actually died with his parents, and that this was his older sister Thorgerd.

Poul Audsson (Bill Humphries)

A blacksmith and herdsman of the family at Briggjafael, son of the matriarch Aud. He is 43, and uncle to Kjartan (see below). He is a widower, whose Lagakin wife left him with their young son seven years ago, and who were killed in a Redaxe raid.

Kjartan the Troublesome (Liz Henry)

A trader with local Lagakin (Algonquin indian) tribes. Grandson of the matriarch Aud, nephew to Poul.

Skallagrim the Dark (James Chokey)

The veteran soldier, originally a huscarl at the Brygjafael household, who has done well for himself despite his family curse.

Silksif the Cunning (Heather)

The daughter of Ingrid the Wise of Tjaraholt, a young but talented practitioner of the Icelandic shamanic tradition.

Former Player Characters

Egil Olafsson (Russell Impagliazzo)

A wandering trapper, who is a regular guest at the Briggjafael homestead as his trapping journeys take him rather far.

Kitgari (Ken McKinney)

A Lagakin buowin (shaman) of the Mahican tribe, Kitgari is the brother-in-law of Poul Audsson.

Brom Brontson (Allen Morano)

The headstrong and heavily-muscled son of Bront the Strong of Tjaraholt.

Lofthaena Ingridsdotter (Sandy)

The sister of Silksif the Cunning, wise in woodcraft.

         The campaign is in the style of the Norse sagas: including a certain gloomy violence, importance of family, and so forth. I will want to arrange the sessions some to highlight this. The power level is at the high end of the historical sagas: PC's are not superhuman, but should soon become reknown, and may take on monsters like ghosts or wendigos -- though with trepidation. There is a lot of roleplaying, with emphasis on the culture and relations.

     The peculiar feature of this compared to many RPG campaigns is that the PC's are not adventurers. True to the sagas, the PC's are participating members of their family, homestead, and community. They have ambitions to marry, acquire land, and so forth. However, also like in the sagas, they are also likely to be active in viking raids, trade expeditions, feuds, quests, and so forth.

     We are using a modified version of the 3rd edition Runequest rules. I want to keep the changes which make RQ non-specific to Glorantha, but I am also simplying the rules to be more like some earlier versions of the Basic Roleplaying mechanics. The power level is slightly higher than basic RQ: characters start out with equivalent of 13 years of skills, and distribute 86 points among characteristics. No magic is assumed, however -- magic skills must be paid for separately.

         Adventure possibilities span a wide range:

• War parties and scouting out the barbaric Redaxe tribes to the west (i.e. Iroquoian tribes).
• An extended quest: traditionally this would be discovering that there was a curse on someone or someplace, and it takes much journeying to find out what.
• Intrigue, feuds, and gaining reknown (from raids, duels, etc.) among the Vinlander families of the region.
• Interaction with the other Norse and Europeans in Hvalrik (Boston) or the village to the north.