Another winter ice has broken through the fjords of northern Falheim and those who still call themselves loyal - to you, your father’s name, and to the blood in your family’s veins - look to you for direction. Spring has always been a hopeful time for your people and as the snows halt and the waters’ icy surfaces begin to crack and melt into pristine flows, the clan is eager to rebuild.
This winter has been a particularly harsh one and to think on it is to mourn.
Gone with the long winter, how did your father, the previous elder of this small clan, pass away?
>> Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
>> Ailments - his time had come, even if it felt too soon, and it was old age and sickness that finally took him from you
>> Betrayal - he was slain by his kin when your uncle, Aleifr, led a mutiny against the old man and seized control of his clan
>> Retirement - knowing full well the end awaited, your old man took to the mountains for pilgrimage, a sombre knowingness about him when he left, and was never seen again
>>6253670 (OP)>Betrayal - he was slain by his kin when your uncle, Aleifr, led a mutiny against the old man and seized control of his clan
>>6253670 (OP)>>> Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
>>6253670 (OP)>Betrayal - he was slain by his kin when your uncle, Aleifr, led a mutiny against the old man and seized control of his clan
>>6253670 (OP)>Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
>>6253670 (OP)>> Betrayal - he was slain by his kin when your uncle, Aleifr, led a mutiny against the old man and seized control of his clan
>>6253670 (OP)>> Betrayal - he was slain by his kin when your uncle, Aleifr, led a mutiny against the old man and seized control of his clan
>>6253670 (OP)>>> Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
>>6253670 (OP)>Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-lineHonorable death!
>>6253670 (OP)>Valor - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
>>6253670 (OP)>> Valour - he was slain while raiding the lands of Earl Ufisson, a sworn enemy to your family-line
It had been a good death. An honourable once. Ever since your father’s name had begun to earn renown and loyalty, he had had detractors. Rivals, those who wished for his land and fealty, those who simply couldn’t abide another man holding sway in the fjords. Osmond Ufisson was one of those detractors.
Ufisson was - and presumably, still is - a warlord Chief borne of the fjords. His family, like yours, has known generations here and live by the waters. When squabbles and small spars between the two clans finally boiled over, it was of a fated, moonless evening that your father led his warriors through the fjords against Ufisson. He had known that night would mean the end for one of your lines, and in your own memory he fought bravely to the end.
Ufisson was not so honourable. Once the battle was won and those few survivors of your clan had fled back down the waterways, Ufisson pursued. He was not interested in dealing with some offspring to your father coming for revenge and, ironically, spurred the fires in your heart as he hunted you and your kin through the southern forests. By first light the hunters gave up their chase and you were left, with few companions, to lick your wounds. Your homes were burned that night.
And so the family name and rites fell to you. Once the surviving members of your clan were able to regroup and consolidate themselves into a community worthy of surviving the winter, the natural progression for your family name was for you to continue where your father ended.
Your family had been of the fjords for generations. First, under the thumb of previous Earls and Jarls, and then later as independent folk, free folk, making their own destinies in the world. While humble, your family name even developed its own followers over the generations, other families who swore fealty and loyalty to your father and his parents before him.
What is that family name, the one you are now responsible for guiding the fates of?
>> Aleifrsson
>> Skuuf
>> Kolsrud
>> Hávarðr
>> Trygg
>> Vilulf
>> Write in
And, from their earliest days, how was your family known?
>> Farmers
>> Herders
>> Fishers
>> Boat makers
>> Warriors
>> Shamans
>> Skalds
>>6253849>Trygg>> Boat makers
>>6253849>> Hávarðr>> FarmersMo' food, mo' monie', mo' people, mo' shield in the battle line.
>Hávarðr
>Skald
My second choice would be Shaman, but Boatwright sounds interesting as well.
>>6253849>Aleifrsson>Herders
>>6253849>> Hávarðr>> Fishers
>>6253849>> Trygg>> Boat makers
Taking Hávarðr as your family name with 3 votes.
Will wait a little longer for a resolution on origins - farmers, herers, fishers, skalds all have 1 vote, boat makers have 2.
>>6253849> Hávarðr> Skalds
>>6253918Not making your life any easier I will be voting
>Herders
>>6253918I'll switch from farmer to boat makers
Rolled 5 (1d6)
1-3 farmers
4-6 boat makers
The Hávarðr bloodline runs deep in the fjords of Nilheim. Proud boat makers, the Hávarðr have served as distinguished nobles to a number of earls and jarls over the generations, and their longboats have always been renowned both for their craftsmanship and their durability. It’s a proud lineage, one your father inherited from his own ancestors, and one you’ve kept alive in your life so far. The art of bending wood and carving metal in a way that parts the glassy waters of the fjords with ease is one you hold dear and with immense pride.
With your home no more, the last few weeks have been spent wandering. You’ve taken counsel from others in the clan on where a new home might be most suited, and with their advice and your own knowledge of the fjords you’ve settled on three obvious sights that might suit.
Your old home, in the south of the fjords, is tempting - it’s where you and your family lived for many decades and, while most of the homes were burned, it benefits from still having a standing forge that’ll make life easier when it comes to arming new warriors to protect your claim.
Alternate options in the east and the north of the fjords could serve you well - both are free of other clans, lush with natural resources, and might give you more time without having Uffison and his cronies detecting the survival of your people.
As winter is closing, the people look to you for where their new home is to be:
>> South, atop the rubble of our old home - the benefits of an existing forge, but within hours of Ufisson and his clan
>> North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying hands
>> East, in the shadow of the mountains - colder winters but more plentiful game in the hinterlands, not to mention some distance from Ufisson’s folk
And, building anew, what will the home of your family be called?
>> Hávarðrfall
>> Skogarstrong
>> Gilsa
>> Beruvik
>> Herjolfsdalr
>> Write in
>>6253997You mean-uh...herders right? I was the only farmer and I switched.
>>6253999>> North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying handsDistance and isolation mean little, when we have boats for travel and trade.
>> Hávarðrfall
>Hávarðrfall
(no-brainer)
>(W)EAST
So we're not an Earl/Jarl I take it, more of a Hauld, Drengr, Styrsman, or Thegn?
>>6253999>> North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying hands>> Hávarðrfall
>>6253999> North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying hands> Hávarðrfall>>6254001Too late, we boat-builders now.
>>6253999>> East, in the shadow of the mountains - colder winters but more plentiful game in the hinterlands, not to mention some distance from Ufisson’s folk>> Hávarðrfall
>>6254011I know, I switched to boats. I mean, he meant herders instead of farmers, right? 'Cause I was the only farmer voter, herders was the tie with boats.
>>6253999>North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying hands>Skogarstrong
>>6253999>East, in the shadow of the mountains - colder winters but more plentiful game in the hinterlands, not to mention some distance from Ufisson’s folk> Hávarðrfall
>>6253999>>> East, in the shadow of the mountains - colder winters but more plentiful game in the hinterlands, not to mention some distance from Ufisson’s folk>> Skogarstrong
>>6254021Yep, herders not farmers. I just had farmers on the mind from your switch.
Waiting a little longer before I roll a tie breaker between East and North.
>>6253999>> North, buried deep in the winding fjords - a long trek to be sure, but plenty of dense forests to fuel our build, and far away from prying hands
The journey north was long and took most of the winter to make, but it was worth it. Not only did it put you and your kin far from harm, out of reach of Earl Ufisson’s people, but it presented a peaceful and bountiful claim to call your own. The forests around Hávarðrfall are lush and full of life and already, as winter closes, people have begun working the ancient timbers into homes and fishing huts.
It is a proud moment one cold evening, by the hearth, when you mark the steads of Hávarðrfall on a map of the fjords. Dotted around this northland you mark up all you can remember from recent years’ trading and raiding among the fjord masters, from your new neighbours in Hvarf down to Uffiset, where your father met his demise.
This final month of winter has all eyes on you, the last Hávarðr and leader of the small clan, and you’ve felt your every action and decision fall to the mercy and scrutiny of the crowd. So far, blessedly, it seems the folk are satisfied with you as their leader.
What is it that they’ve seen? (rate all 4, from highest to lowest)
>> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes
>> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented
>> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmen
>> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world
And of course, your name. Who do the meagre folk of Hávarðrfall call their leader?
>> Thorleik
>> Grette
>> Athils
>> Asfrid
>> Torhild
>> Frida
>> Write in
>>6254163> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmen> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other worldFunnily enough, I think this order is neat. We do not ask the gods to do what we as men should do, nor the gygjas and volvas to grant us fortune as we should make with our own actions.
> Thorleik
>>6254163>> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world>> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes>> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented>> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmenTop highest, lower is worse. The idea is a spiritually connected, honest, and hardworking person who leads by example and has the occasional bright idea. It is up to the individual follower to observe and make what they can of our actions, for we have a lead tongue.
>> AsfridDon't super care about the name.
>>6254163>Wit>Mind >Vigor>Spirit>> Asfrid
>>6254163>> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world>> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes>> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented>> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsme>> Torhild
>>6254163>> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmen>> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes>> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented>> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world>> Frida
>>6254163>> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmen>> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented>> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes>> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world>> Frida
>>6254163> Mind - your smarts, your decisiveness, and your ability to solve whatever problem is presented> Vigor - your physical presence and strength, your ability to bend the elements (and other men) to your purposes> Spirit - your essence, a good and just aura, that is clearly a blessed connection between you and the other world> Wit - your charm, your silver tongue, and your ability to convey even the most complex of ideas to the eagerly listening ears of your kinsmen> Torhild
Rolled 4 (1d6)
1-2 Asfrid
3-4 Torhild
5-6 Frida
>>6254244>>6254173I'll change to Frida.
You are Frida Hávarðr, boat builder and Hauld of Hávarðrfall, renowned for your physical strength and craftsmanship that is only second to your wit, your charm and your silver tongue. It was through both talents - your knowledge of the longboat and its traversal of the fjords, and your ability to muster morale and urge your kin on - that you settled here in the north of the Falheim fjords.
You’ve assembled a small village in the closing act of winter, shelter enough to keep people warm and dry, and the township is just large enough to sustain the supplies needed to see you through to spring - a smokehouse for fish, dry storage space for foraged goods, and a large timber and skins hut to act as an impromptu longhouse until warmer days arrive.
[u]Hauld Frida Hávarðr[/u]
Stats
Vigor [+1]
Mind [0]
Wit [+2]
Spirit [-1]
Skills
Boat making
[u]Hávarðrfall[/u]
Honour: Suspect [-1]
Wyrd: Abandoned [-2]
Loyalty: Steadfast [+1]
Wealth: Threadbare [-2]
Supply: Scant [-2]
Warriors: 18
Boats: 2
Oaths: Nil
Debts: a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson
It is the dawn of Spring - when ice melts, flowers bloom, and folk turn their minds to the year ahead. Much of Falheim life revolves around preparing for and enduring the cold winters of the fjords, and the year ahead is likely no different.
The folk who call you Hauld look to you for direction now. Winter has been survived, the tragedy of the past months is now behind, and there is a stoic hope in the eyes of those who follow you.
Actions - each month you will pick a primary focus. This won’t be all that happens that month as people continue to live their lives regardless of your actions - they fish and hunt, sew clothes and wares, repair leaky roofs, etc. Your actions are big picture focuses for the town and will guide the kinds of interactions you will encounter, and possibly impact how the town develops.
For the first month of spring, what is the primary focus of Hávarðrfall?
>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our supplies
>> Improving our homes and buildings
>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>> Seeking out fertle soil for crops
>> Mending our boats and building new ones
>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>> Seeking contact and/or trade with one of our neighbours (specify which)
>> Raiding nearby townships (specify which)
>> Write in
>>6254246Just made it
>>6254249No underline huh, I'm rusty
>>6254249>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our suppliessummer is when planting starts and end with fall right?
>>6254249>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithingFind iron now so we can forge better weapons, build sturdier homes and stronger ships later
>>6254249>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>>6254249>> Seeking out fertle soil for crops
>>6254249>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our suppliesConsidering how low our supplies are, I would gladly shore them up during spring when there are plenty of them. We can then start looking out for fertile land to get a steady supply of food.
>>6254249>Seeking out fertle soil for crops
>>6254249>>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our supplies
>>6254249> Seeking out fertile soil for crops
>>6254249>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our suppliesSupplies for the immediate future, and trees for our craft. A proper self sufficient home may take awhile, we may have to trade or raid in the meanwhile.
>>6254249>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our supplies
boars
md5: 13f62f40aeb9d7c9c96973f4a3f9168c
🔍
>> Hunting, gathering and felling trees to shore up our supplies
As promised, predicted, perhaps remembered from times long ago when you ranged this far from home with your father, the forests and small, muddy glens around Hávarðrfall are lush with life. The trees are tall, straight and old, and the wildlife is not accustomed to your kind wandering its nature, making easy game.
As snow underfoot is fully melting, you join a small foraging hunt to the north-east, exploring the deeper woods. The undergrowth is lush with fungi and some sturdy roots and nuts that have survived the thaw, but over the coming week the attention of the your small band is drawn mostly to game - mountain hares, foxes, ptarmigan mostly, and even the promise of boar tracks in the later days.
Late in the afternoon of the third day, after beginning the circle back to camp, you come across a family of wild boars scratching amongst the muddy roots of some ancient trees. There are whispers from your companions of mixed uncertainty and excited. Meals at the hearth have been lean thus far.
Your band is equipped mostly with spears, though a select few brought along hunting bows, and have been carefully counting their arrows. Though the adult boars are few, most of them have severe tusks muddied with the soft ground.
You feel expectations falling on you.
>> Charge into the undergrowth and take the boars by surprise [Vigor, 4d6]
>> Inspire and coordinate the troops around the small clearing, flanking the creatures and relying on bows and thrown spears [Wit, 5d6]
>> Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]
>> It is clear to you where the boar tracks lead next - you will set up a pit trap down that track and let them come to you [Mind, 3d6]
>> You can do without the meat, and the risk, for now. It’s time to return home.
>> We cannot hunt these creatures. Boars have for generations been sacred to our clan. [Gain an Oath]
For chosen options I will rely on votes, but for dice rolls I will take the first roll associated with the winning option.
>>6254503>> Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 6, 5, 5, 2 = 18 (4d6)
>>6254503>> Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 2, 6, 5, 2, 4 = 19 (5d6)
>>6254503>> Inspire and coordinate the troops around the small clearing, flanking the creatures and relying on bows and thrown spears [Wit, 5d6]
>>6254503>Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]
>>6254503>> Inspire and coordinate the troops around the small clearing, flanking the creatures and relying on bows and thrown spears [Wit, 5d6]Flushing out boars onto spears is usually how you do it, no?
>>6254585If you read the choice, it seems like we don't close in for the kill in melee with the coordinated flank choice. A less risky option perhaps, but I assume the trade off is a higher DC needs to be passed to earn kills.
Rolled 3, 4, 4, 2 = 13 (4d6)
>>6254503>> Charge into the undergrowth and take the boars by surprise [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 3, 5, 2, 3, 4 = 17 (5d6)
>>6254503>> Inspire and coordinate the troops around the small clearing, flanking the creatures and relying on bows and thrown spears [Wit, 5d6]
>>6254503>> Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]
Roll from
>>6254510>> Encircle the clearing with a few of your strongest warriors and charge a single boar to ensure a kill [Vigor, 4d6]Success!
Those in your band move with practiced discipline, thought its clear this isn’t a warband like the one your father once led. These are hunters, fisherfolk, weavers, and young women looking to learn the ways of the hunt. Still, they trust your judgement.
You gesture, low and sharp, and the group fans out around the muddy grove. The boars snort and shuffle in the soft loam, unaware of the peril that creeps among the bracken. You count their number - three adults, two young. One of the adults is massive, its thick hide rippling with muscle, tusks like iron ploughs. That is your target, and you can see in the eyes of your hunters that they all know this fact without a word.
A sharp whistle cuts the air as you lunge forward, spear at the ready. In a rush of motion you see the others of the band burst from the woods, shouting and holding sharpened spears before them.
The massive boar reacts with speed no one expects, charging and shrieking, but it's too late. Your lead spear drives into its flank and a young woman to your right lands another. The boar barrels through the muck, bleeding heavily, then falls with a final, guttural squeal.
The others scatter into the trees.
For a breathless moment, silence reigns. Then, relief. Cheers and laughter erupt from the bank, and you even hear a few shaken prayers being issued. The kill is yours and, supplementing your existing haul with fat, hide, bone and meat, it’s a significant score.
As the band begins to prepare the carcass for transport - you still have half a day or so to trek to get home - you approach the young hunter who is cleaning a splattering of blood from her hands in a nearby puddle. You recall her name is Aud, a daughter to one of your fathers warriors. In a silent moment of shame, you don’t recall whether he had survived the raid that had claimed your father’s life or not.
Dalla must be only 15 winters old, but she is a strong young woman.
>> “A glorious hunt, Dalla. I couldn’t have done it without you! The spirits of the hunt were with us today.”>> “Brave but foolish, young one, to launch yourself into the attack so quickly. You could have been wounded!”>> “You shouldn’t clean the signs of the hunt from your hands, girl. Let the folk back at town know your story.”>> “You did well, Dalla. This is a bountiful land and the more you learn, the more you’ll help us tame it.”>> "The kill was mine, child. Don't get ahead of yourself."
>>6254730>“You did well, Dalla. This is a bountiful land and the more you learn, the more you’ll help us tame it.”
>>6254730>> “Brave but foolish, young one, to launch yourself into the attack so quickly. You could have been wounded!”Is her name Aud or Dalla?
>>6254730>> “You did well, Dalla. This is a bountiful land and the more you learn, the more you’ll help us tame it.”Don't patronize her, she did well and can help us with what she's good at, that's all. We could have done it without her, we're not in the ideal position to be worrying about the youth, and we don't need a blood soaked glory seeker, words will suffice.
>>6254733Dalla - edit error
>>6254730>>> “You did well, Dalla. This is a bountiful land and the more you learn, the more you’ll help us tame it.”
>>6254730>>> “Brave but foolish, young one, to launch yourself into the attack so quickly. You could have been wounded!”
>>6254730> “Brave but foolish, young one, to launch yourself into the attack so quickly. You could have been wounded!”
Rolled 5 (1d6)
1-3 = Bountiful land (
>>6254732)
4-5 = Brave but foolish (
>>6254733)
>> “Brave but foolish, young one, to launch yourself into the attack so quickly. You could have been wounded!”
Dalla’s face flushes. She stiffens slightly, eyes narrowing as though preparing for a blow that never comes, and eventually she settles with gentle indignation.
“I saw the gap in the boar’s flank.” she says, perhaps too quickly. “You said surround and strike. I struck.”
There’s a flash of defiance on the younger girls face, but also guilt. She knows the risk she took, and presumably that had something gone wrong she might have put the band in danger. You hold her gaze for a moment.
“Bravery feeds songs…” you say at last “...but caution feeds the clan.”
She nods, gives no reply.
You ready the group to move. While you may lose sun on the way, you should be able to return to Hávarðrfall for the evening feast.
The party moves through the woods in loose formation, a makeshift sled of branches and hides dragging behind two of the stronger hunters. The weight of the boar slows the pace, but spirits are high. Someone begins humming an old hunting song that reminds you of being a child and wandering the forests with your father in search for deer. Others join in, softly at first, and then louder as the trees thin toward the edge of the trail.
As you step over a shallow creek, a voice to your left murmurs
“Didn’t expect the young one to leap like that, hmm.”
It’s Kjartan, a lean, older hunter with a short braid in his blonde beard and a bow strung across his back. He’s from one of the families that followed your father since before you were born and, while just a little older than you, he was a childhood friend when you were young. His pace matches yours with ease.
“She’s bold.” He continues. “Like someone else I remember from the old days.”
You let that hang. The sound of the sled scraping stone echoes up ahead.
“You were younger than she is now, charging through the trees with your spear and your father’s shield on your back. We all thought you’d fall down under the weight of it, that first time.”
>>6254857You can’t tell if he’s teasing or being kind, but it conjures a smirk nonetheless. “And you all told me as much. Didn’t change that I got that fawn on the first throw.”
He gives a short chuckle, letting the jabbing end there with a shake of his head. Then his tone shifts.
“You did well today. The hunt. The plan. The kill. They followed you, and they’ll speak of it. That matters.” He says those final words almost indifferently, almost as a question. You get the feeling he hadn’t really thought about it, whether what folk think of you matters or not. Strangely, you realise, it hadn’t dwelled too heavily on your mind yet either. What did it mean to become the leader of these people?
“There are going to be those out there looking for us, to finish what my father failed at. A boar won’t win us back our home, or our livelihood.”
“No.” You get the sense his eyes roll, but nonetheless his tone remains sure. “But it’ll keep the children fed, and give the smith fat for his forge… when we have a forge, anyway! And every step like this, one where they see you strong and measured, it wins back something.”
You glance at him. His eyes are tired, but not dim.
“You’ll need to watch that girl.” The pair of you pause, observing as the sled up ahead is dislodged from some rocks it had fallen upon, Della helping get it clear. “She’ll grow into something.” His words hang in the air and, after a short pause, it’s apparent Kjartan isn’t going to expand on the thought.
You walk in silence for a time.
The sun dips low as Hávarðrfall’s rooftops come into view. It’s little more than timber skeletons and thick sheets of furs and skins and thatch for now, but still, it is home.
As you descend into town and revelry meets the return of the hunting party, you learn of more success in recent days - a logging camp has been started and plenty of planks have already started being sawn; fish, too, were brought in from the shallows not far from the town’s banks, and you see a dozen or so of them hanging to dry by the longboats.
That evening, in the large tent that stands as makeshift longhouse, everyone feasts on fresh meat and fish, and celebrates the new beginnings of Hávarðrfall. The only complaints you hear - aside from the longhouse not really being a proper hall - is the noticeable lack of alcohol at the celebrations. A few of your kin assure you that they’ll be able to get fermenting in the warmer months, but in the meantime the town might need to rely on the resources of other settlements to get those basic necessities off the ground.
With the establishment of a lumber camp and the successful hunting, foraging and fishing, the town’s Supply has increased.
>>6254858Hauld Frida Hávarðr
Stats
Vigor [+1]
Mind [0]
Wit [+2]
Spirit [-1]
Skills
Boat making
Hávarðrfall
Honour: Suspect [-1]
Wyrd: Abandoned [-2]
Loyalty: Steadfast [+1]
Wealth: Threadbare [-2]
Supply: Meager [-1]
Warriors: 18
Boats: 2
Oaths: Nil
Debts: a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson
The weather has truly warmed and folk in Hávarðrfall have settled into their new life here in the north. There is much to do, but the necessities are in place and most people feel comfortable. Once the barest of needs have been met, of course, the murmurs start. Some folk can’t go a night without mentioning the lack of mead and ale, others keep harping on about their poor gear and the need for a new forge. Others yet - a minority in the small group, but nevertheless - make several comments to you and your closest kin that there is a distinct lack of the Gods in your new home.
For the second month of Spring, what is the primary focus of Hávarðrfall?
>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply>> Improving our homes and buildings>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing>> Mending our boats and building new ones>> Building a proper and worthy longhall>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan>> Seeking contact and/or trade with one of our neighbours (specify which)>> Raiding nearby townships (specify which)>> Write in
>>6254859>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>>6254859>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>>6254859>>> Improving our homes and buildings
>>6254859>>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supplyWithout timber we won't be able to fuel our fires and to build our great halls and without food we won't be able to provide for our loyal followers
>>6254859>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>>6254859>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supplyA bit tedious, but it will be worth it. We do need the timber for everything, be it building a iron mine, forge or ships.
>>6254859>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>>6254859>Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply
>>6254859>Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply
>>6254859>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply
>>6254859>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply
>> Continuing work to solidify the timber and food supply
Assuring the clan doesn’t need or want for the necessities is the key to longevity. Shoring up stores now will make life easier in the seasons to come. As such, despite some resistance from a few stubborn characters who are seeking more excitement to their days, you set the focus of town on processing more timber and building up your food stores.
Folk rise early and return late from their labours. A dozen timber workers, mostly fisherfolk by trade, have turned their calloused hands to axe and saw. You join them one misty morning as they strike out into the deeper woods northeast of Hávarðrfall, aiming to begin marking trees for long-term harvesting.
The work goes well at first and the bounty is plentiful. Getting logs back to town is slowly becoming more of a challenge, but the work crews endure - the trees further from your homes are the best for long, sturdy planks. The trees are old and straight, the kind boat-makers envy. Midweek, the crew returns early, haggard and spooked.
"We’ll not go back there, not to the hollow." says old Gunnbjorn, one of the oldest of your loggers. “There’s a wrongness in it. The trees move, and not with the wind.”
Others back him up. It seems that nobody was hurt, and no beasts were met in the woods, but the crew heard strange things. Whispers, like old voices murmuring just behind their ears. One young boy insists he saw a standing stone among the roots, slick with moss and carved with runes that were caked with dry blood.
The crew insists to keep their logging closer to town for days to come, or else they’ll not go logging at all.
There is timber aplenty closer to town, but the pines of the hollow are perfect for boats.
>> Accept the delay, but insist that the loggers will need to return to the hollow eventually.
>> Declare that you’ll investigate the hollow yourself, to prove it is safe.
>> Discuss the hollow with some of your trusted counsel to decide what to do.
>> Suggest that this is a sign of the Hávarðrfall’s waning connection to the wyrd, and that a sacrifice should be made to appease whatever is in the woods.
>> Agree that all folk should avoid the hollow in future, it is a forbidden place. Timber for the boats can come from someplace else.
>> Ignore these concerns and task a new work crew to resume logging at the hollow to ensure appropriate planks for boat making in the Summer.
>>6255186>> Declare that you’ll investigate the hollow yourself, to prove it is safe.
>>6255186>> Suggest that this is a sign of the Hávarðrfall’s waning connection to the wyrd, and that a sacrifice should be made to appease whatever is in the woods.That being said, I'm fine with anything but forbidding the place. We may very well not be building boats by summer, other things may occupy our time. What we fear lurks there, may not even be anything but mundane. If we prove incapable of dealing with the hollow, then eventually we can forbid it.
>>6255186>Suggest that this is a sign of the Hávarðrfall’s waning connection to the wyrd, and that a sacrifice
>>6255186>> Discuss the hollow with some of your trusted counsel to decide what to do.
>>6255186>>> Declare that you’ll investigate the hollow yourself, to prove it is safe.Well we should find out if it's an angry spirit or something else shouldn't we?
>>6255186> Declare that you’ll investigate the hollow yourself, to prove it is safe.Can't pass up a mystery box.
>> Declare that you’ll investigate the hollow yourself, to prove it is safe.
Rather than let fear take root, you decide to go see the hollow yourself.
When word spreads of your intention, two folk step forward to join you. Kjartan, who you’ve found by your side more often than not since the hunt, and who seems genuinely eager to prove himself useful. And Gyda, an older woman with arms like hammered iron and the calm voice of someone who has seen more winters than most. She had once worked the forge for your father, back in the days before the raid, and has been a stoic and quiet force of reliability in the clan over the past few months.
Together, the three of you head out one cool morning beneath a sky stretched with thin white clouds. The scent of wet earth and budding pine fills your lungs. You move along the well-used paths around town and deeper into the older woods, where the hollow is said to have been. By afternoon you have far surpassed anywhere the town’s axes had swung, and a cool creeps into the air.
The hollow is just as the loggers described it. It’s a quiet bowl in the land, where the trees seem older and the light dims under their boughs. There’s a hush here, not unnatural, but respectful, as though the forest itself draws breath and holds it. The skitter of creatures high in the trees and in the undergrowth seems to cease.
In the centre of the hollow, half-buried in damp earth and moss, stands a weathered stone. It isn’t large, but its placement is deliberate. Someone, long ago, raised it here - perhaps over a hundred winters ago, Gyda suggests as the three of your observe it cautiously. Simple carvings wind across its face - stylised animals, waves, and the curled form of what might be a tree or a flame. The markings are heavily faded but, despite the embellishments you heard from the loggers, none of the carvings seem to be marked in blood - just mud and moss.
At the base of the monument - which is only perhaps shoulder height itself - is a broad stone that has several small bowls or divots worked into it. They are empty now, save some old rainwater and leaves, but you can imagine at some past time they were homes of offerings - flowers and herbs, food and silver.
“It’s a shrine.” Gyda says quietly, crouching to examine the stone. “Plenty of our folk have made places like this throughout the fjords, before the gods we know of had their names. It’s not necessarily a bad place. Just… old.”
Kjartan doesn’t speak, but he walks a slow circle around the stone, fingers brushing a low-hanging branch. The wind shifts gently, rustling through the needles. It feels less like an intrusion now, more like a meeting.
You stand before the stone and consider.
There is nothing here to drive you away. No ghosts, no monsters, no whispers save for a cool breeze that admittedly runs up your spine and has you adjust your furs. Just a quiet memories and the weight of things long-past. But it’s clear this place meant something, to someone, once.
“Maybe it still does. Or still could.” You finish the thought aloud, drawing confused looks from your companions.
>> “Nothing to fear. We should respect it.” You set about cleaning the stone, leaving a small offering, and acknowledging this place as the sacred site it is. [Spirit, 2d6]
>> “It’s no harm, but not of our concern.” Your trio leaves the shrine, untouched, and you intend to instruct the loggers to leave the hollow free from their axes in future. [Wit, 5d6]
>> “Like the passing of a name, from my father to me, this has been gifted to us for our own.” Carve new marks into the stone, blending with the old symbols, to claim the shrine in your family name. (Select an animal or artform to hold scared) [Spirit, 2d6]
>> “While it’s here, it’s a danger to our home. Who knows what folk it my draw here.” Return home and prepare a larger band to travel to the hollow to dismantle and destroy the monument. [Wit, 5d6]
Rolled 6, 5 = 11 (2d6)
>>6255314>> “Like the passing of a name, from my father to me, this has been gifted to us for our own.” Carve new marks into the stone, blending with the old symbols, to claim the shrine in your family name. (Beaver) [Spirit, 2d6]Looks like we're not using these trees for boats.
>>6255323I’ll second this.
Rolled 3, 4 = 7 (2d6)
>>6255314>othing to fear. We should respect it.” You set about cleaning the stone, leaving a small offering, and acknowledging this place as the sacred site it is. [Spirit, 2d6]
>>6255314>> “Nothing to fear. We should respect it.” You set about cleaning the stone, leaving a small offering, and acknowledging this place as the sacred site it is. [Spirit, 2d6]
Rolled 3, 5, 4, 3, 2 = 17 (5d6)
>>6255314>> “While it’s here, it’s a danger to our home. Who knows what folk it my draw here.” Return home and prepare a larger band to travel to the hollow to dismantle and destroy the monument. [Wit, 5d6]
Rolled 6, 1 = 7 (2d6)
>>6255314>> “Nothing to fear. We should respect it.” You set about cleaning the stone, leaving a small offering, and acknowledging this place as the sacred site it is. [Spirit, 2d6]
>> “Like the passing of a name, from my father to me, this has been gifted to us for our own.” Carve new marks into the stone, blending with the old symbols, to claim the shrine in your family name. (Beaver) [Spirit, 2d6]
Success!
You step closer to the stone, laying a hand upon its rough, damp face. The moss squelches beneath your fingers and your breath comes slow and steady in the quiet of the hollow. Neither of them say anything, but you can feel a hesitation from your companions behind you.
“Like the passing of a name…” you say aloud “... from my father to me. This has been gifted to us for our own.”
You reach for a small blade tucked into your belt, the kind you’d usually use to prepare your food. The tip of the iron scrapes away the lichen, revealing the ancient lines beneath. You can feel the age of the stone and the carvings just by working with them. It’s only a gentle feeling, but nonetheless you feel connected.
Over your shoulder, Kjartan looks to Gyda, unsure. The old smith narrows her eyes, but says nothing.
With care, you begin to score a new mark into the edge of the stone. Not over the old, but beside them. Your hand works slow and steady, weaving the archaic and stylised shape of your family’s animal - a beaver midstream. A mark that speaks of shelter, industriousness, the bending of timber to one’s will, and of course the stubborn resolve of your father and his father before him.
Gyda kneels beside you, watching the mark take form. “Your father wouldn’t have wasted time being nervous either. Truly his daughter.” Her words are reassuring, supportive. Clearly, now she sees your actions, she agrees with them. Kjartan says nothing.
When you finish, the stone doesn’t seem awfully different… but the hollow does. The hush remains, but it no longer feels like it holds its breath. The entire palace almost feels brighter, and you don’t feel so much of an intruder here as you do a guest. The hollow has heard you.
Gyda rests her hand beside the new mark, then fetches a small piece of river-polished stone from her pack and places it in one of the carved bowls beneath the shrine. The token is her own and you can only guess to its significance. “The spirits will no doubt call this place ours, now.”
“No.” Kjartan speaks up, correcting her gently but firmly. “We belong to it. Just as much as these trees do.” The words feel wise, but his voice hints at worry or concern.
>> “Come now, friends. We should share the news with the clansfolk - the hollow is a friend!”
>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.” [Wit, 5d6]
>> “Bah, you can jump at superstition all you want, Kjartan. At least the loggers will fell the good timber now.”
>> “This place is something special, but I don’t think it can be for everyone. We should keep this between ourselves, for now.” [Spirit, 2d6]
Rolled 5, 1, 5, 3, 4 = 18 (5d6)
>>6255555>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.” [Wit, 5d6]
>>6255555>> “Come now, friends. We should share the news with the clansfolk - the hollow is a friend!”Nice quints
>>6255555>> “Come now, friends. We should share the news with the clansfolk - the hollow is a friend!”
>>6255555>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.” [Wit, 5d6]He's cozying up to us, we must keep him placated. Plus, could be that he's already plotting all kinds of things, considering the advice he has for the girl.
>>6255555>”Come now, friends. We should share the news with the clansfolk - the hollow is a friend!”
>>6255555>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.” [Wit, 5d6]
Rolled 4, 2, 2, 6, 1 = 15 (5d6)
>>6255555>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.” [Wit, 5d6]
>> “Kjartan, when have I steered you wrong before? When had my father? You can trust me on this.”
Partial success!
The old hunter doesn’ respond immediately, but your words clearly get to him and he lowers his head. Eventually, “Aye, Hauld Hávarðr. I know you’d do no harm.” His eyes return to meet yours and he offers you an uneasy smile. You know he means well, but there is something uncertain that lingers. “I follow you, like I did your father. And that includes speaking with your word.
You feel content, at least, that there will be no opposition to your tale and your decision back home.
When the three of you return to Hávarðrfall that evening, the mood is different. You gather folk around the hearth during the evening feast and speak plainly about what you found. About what you did. While nobody speaks directly in opposition to your tale, some are clearly wary. You spy Kjartan sharing some quiet words with a few of the older members of the group, though he gives you a nod of assurance when your eyes meet. You don’t hear anything further from those few he holds court with.
Most others nod quietly. Gyda’s voice lends weight to your words and many, recognising the significance of the beaver to your family, openly voice support of a spiritual link to their new home.
Over the coming days some people begin calling the hollow Feðrstaðr - father’s place. A few of the young ones carve simple charms to carry with them, bearing the same stylised beaver mark you carved into the shrine. You can’t help note, though, that some of the same children are scorned for doing so.
At the very least, Gunnbjorn seems content, and is leading a small team of loggers back into the woods in the following days to fell more of the ancient timbers.
With the taming of the hollow, the town’s Wyrd has increased.
With a focus on logging and gathering food, the town’s Supply has increased.
You have earned a new Oath - Feðrstaðr (Father’s Place) hollow.
Hauld Frida Hávarðr
Stats
Vigor [+1]
Mind [0]
Wit [+2]
Spirit [-1]
Skills
Boat making
Hávarðrfall
Honour: Suspect [-1]
Wyrd: Clouded [-1]
Loyalty: Steadfast [+1]
Wealth: Threadbare [-2]
Supply: Sufficient [-/+0]
Warriors: 18
Boats: 2
Oaths: Feðrstaðr (Father’s Place) hollow
Debts: a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson
As the end of Spring comes into view you can feel progress behind you, not just tragedy. For the first time there is a surplus of food and good timber, for building and burning, and a lot of folk - not just the younger kids - have spare time on their hands to stop, reflect and relax.
Since founding Hávarðrfall you have had no contact with other clans within the fjords, for better or worse, and the solitude has helped solidify this place as your home. The future feels busy, but productive and healthy. There is so much to do.
For the third and final month of Spring, what is the primary focus of Hávarðrfall?
>> Focusing on gathering and preserving more food and timber
>> Improving our homes and buildings
>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>> Mending our boats and building new ones
>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>> Seeking contact and/or trade with one of our neighbours (specify which)
>> Raiding nearby townships (specify which)
>> Write in
>>6255802>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithingWith food in a surplus, we can finally strike out for iron. We will need it for tools, weapons and buildings.
>>6255802>>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>>6255802>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>>6255802>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithingTime to craft
>>6255802>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
>> Seeking out a source of iron ore to begin smithing
Spring wears on and with it the snowmelt have given way to soft earth and the bright chatter of birdsong. The forests are more and more alive by the day, and while the people of Hávarðrfall have food and timber enough for now, you know that iron is key to unlocking a prosperous future here.
Without proper tools and weapons, your people remain on the edge of survival, constantly always mending, patching, repairing. With iron, Gyda could fire up a true forge, build nails and blades, fit axeheads that won’t snap in the cold, and begin to produce farming equipment that’ll serve your people in years ahead.
For this reason, you lead a small group out to search the northern slopes, rocky hills and craggs that shadow over your new home. With Gyda by your side, you enlist the help of another six, including some warriors.
Four days into your search, with the pines thinning and the hills steepening, you find what you’ve been hoping for - a cleft in the rocks, shallow but rich with red earth and stone that is streaked with dark veins. You scrape rusted smears from the stone with your fingers.
Gyda crouches with you. “There’s not a lot here, but this could be worked. We’d need some days to explore it properly to see if it goes deeper.”
“It’s not only us who covet it, Hauld.” The voice comes from Herlu, one of your warriors who joined the small expedition. He had been ranging around the area, checking some of the other smaller divots and craggs in the hillside. “There is a wolf den, looks active too.” He points a stubby finger a short distance down the slope, not far from where you had made your approach.
You join Herlu in getting a closer look while Gyda does a bit of digger around the iron stoneface. The small cave he takes you to is unmistakable - there are remnants of carcasses strewn about, small beds dug out of the soft earth within, and the entire place smells of canine and decay. “A pack, I’d guess. Could be a dozen or more.” Herlu is stony faced. He is no fool, from your brief encounters with him in the past, but he’s also sure not to fear a pack of wolves. The warrior's stoicism doesn’t make the threat any less serious.
“We’ll have to deal with them, or keep ranging. The rock is too close to their den, they’ll never give us peace here.”
>> “We’ll fight them for it, then. End this today. This land needs to be ours, it’ll build us a strong future in Hávarðrfall.” [Vigor, 4d6]
>> “We should be wary of displacing the beasts. There’s some benefit to having them here. Let us continue the search, there’s bound to be iron elsewhere.” [Wit, 5d6]
>> “Let us observe, then. Nothing rash. If they’re a small group, we may be able to drive them off with no harm either way. If not small, well…” [Wit, 5d6]
>> “The wolf is a custodian to these lands. Best we no disturb them, lest we anger other spirits in the fjords.” [Spirit, 2d6]
Rolled 1, 4, 4, 6, 5 = 20 (5d6)
>>6255911>> “Let us observe, then. Nothing rash. If they’re a small group, we may be able to drive them off with no harm either way. If not small, well…” [Wit, 5d6]
>>6255911>“Let us observe, then. Nothing rash. If they’re a small group, we may be able to drive them off with no harm either way. If not small, well…” [Wit, 5d6]
>>6255911>> “Let us observe, then. Nothing rash. If they’re a small group, we may be able to drive them off with no harm either way. If not small, well…” [Wit, 5d6]
Rolled 5, 4, 4, 3 = 16 (4d6)
>>6255911>> “We’ll fight them for it, then. End this today. This land needs to be ours, it’ll build us a strong future in Hávarðrfall.” [Vigor, 4d6]
wolves
md5: 65aff7b1670c745ed120a73d5063b869
🔍
>> “Let us observe, then. Nothing rash. If they’re a small group, we may be able to drive them off with no harm either way. If not small, well…” [Wit, 5d6]
Success!
Nobody contests the plan and you feel some validation from Herlu - whether it’s because of your measured logic, or the fact that a bit of blooding isn’t yet off the table, you can’t tell.
You spend the next several days watching from the rocky slopes above the iron vein, our of sight from the den and in a position where you’re hopefully any fire smoke you make will drift up into the mountains and now down to the den. The wolves below go about their patterns with little concern for your presence, though you are sure they know you’re near.
They are not a vast pack.
Eight wolves in all, as best as you can tell. Five grown, including a large matriarch with a very grey snout, and three long-legged pups who wrestle and whine just outside the den's shadow. They barely approach the iron cleft at all, and only on the first day do they linger there for long enough to pick up your scent. Gyda, ever watchful, muses that the smell of your party alone might have put the fright into the beasts. They are cautious in everything they do.
Around the fire one evening, after a long reflective silence, Herlu speaks his mind in a low tone, having clearly dwelled on the thought for some time. “We could strike now. Take the fight to them while they’re not expecting it. Or drive them off with fire, smoke them out. They’ll not want to face flame, especially with pups.”
Gyda frowns at this. “We don’t need to kill unless we must. They’re as much a part of this wild as we are, and they haven't done us harm yet. If we watch a little longer, time may push them off on its own. Hunger will bite harder than our blades, and if those pups are growing fast then the whole pack might want to migrate somewhere else soon.”
You weigh their words as the night grows still. Nobody else says a word. You feel the rest of the band’s eyes resting on you, probing for some indication of what the right choice is.
>> “We strike at dawn. Better now than when the pups grow strong.” You’ll spend the rest of the evening discussing with Herlu the best way to rid yourselves of the beasts with minimal wounds. [Vigor, 4d6]
>> “Smoke and fire will move them along.” You gather the group together and begin planning to ambush the creatures with flames in the early hours, to ward them off. [Mind, 3d6]
>> “We wait. However long it takes.” You send one of the group back to town to report the news, and settle in the observe the den for a few more days - or weeks. Maybe they’ll move along on their own. [Mind, 3d6]
>> “We build a false trail tomorrow with lures and fresh meat. Then we destroy the den. Leave them with no choice but toleave this place.” You set about a large hunt in the morning to gather meat enough to lure the wolves away. [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 2, 2, 6, 2 = 12 (4d6)
>>6256037>> “We build a false trail tomorrow with lures and fresh meat. Then we destroy the den. Leave them with no choice but toleave this place.” You set about a large hunt in the morning to gather meat enough to lure the wolves away. [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 5, 6, 1, 1 = 13 (4d6)
>>6256037>> “We strike at dawn. Better now than when the pups grow strong.” You’ll spend the rest of the evening discussing with Herlu the best way to rid yourselves of the beasts with minimal wounds. [Vigor, 4d6]
Rolled 6, 5, 1 = 12 (3d6)
>>6256037>> “Smoke and fire will move them along.” You gather the group together and begin planning to ambush the creatures with flames in the early hours, to ward them off. [Mind, 3d6]
>>6256037>“We build a false trail tomorrow with lures and fresh meat. Then we destroy the den. Leave them with no choice but toleave this place.” You set about a large hunt in the morning to gather meat enough to lure the wolves away. [Vigor, 4d6]
>>6256037>> “We build a false trail tomorrow with lures and fresh meat. Then we destroy the den. Leave them with no choice but toleave this place.” You set about a large hunt in the morning to gather meat enough to lure the wolves away. [Vigor, 4d6]
>>6256037>> “Smoke and fire will move them along.” You gather the group together and begin planning to ambush the creatures with flames in the early hours, to ward them off. [Mind, 3d6]
>>6256037>> “We strike at dawn. Better now than when the pups grow strong.” You’ll spend the rest of the evening discussing with Herlu the best way to rid yourselves of the beasts with minimal wounds. [Vigor, 4d6]
>>6256037>FIRE, I BID YOU TO BURN
Anon made the tie. I'll give it a bit before rolling for it.
Rolled 3 (1d6)
1-3 = False trail
4-6 = Smoke and fire
Writing.
>> “We build a false trail tomorrow with lures and fresh meat. Then we destroy the den. Leave them with no choice but to leave this place.” You set about a large hunt in the morning to gather meat enough to lure the wolves away. [Vigor, 4d6]
Success!
The plan is a simple one, but it takes time, a little prediction, and no small amount of luck. While everyone accepts your word that evening, it’s the luck part - and perhaps, to a warrior like Herlu, the passiveness of the approach - that seems to give them some pause.
At first light you lead a hunt down the lower slopes, with Gyda and three others into the woods, while Herlu and another young warrior named Tosti track deer signs through the thickets. Both of your groups steer well clear of the iron deposit and the wolf den alike, moving through the trees of the surrounding woods with a steady precision.
The forest is alive in the warmer weather and, though it takes most of the day, you have no trouble tracking and spearing or shooting birds from the boughs and hares that dart this way and that between the trees and underbrush. With a few spears and a lot of waiting, Herlu and his young apprentice also manage to bring in a very young stag, one that was already wounded from some mishap and was easy to separate from its herd.
By evening you’ve strung up carcasses with fresh ropes and dragged the meat to a narrow defile further down the hills, a place where the winds, like through a tunnel, push the scent straight into the territory of the young den. Herlu helps tear open the stag’s flank, letting blood seep into the trail you carve through brush and bramble. It’s messy, deliberate work.
The night is quiet and, from your camp higher up the slopes, you spot - or more accurately, hear - signs of the stirring animals in the very early hours. Amidst the twilight you’re able to confirm that most of them have left the den to investigate the kill, and with Herlu’s insistence your group lights up torches and descends down the rocky approach to the small cave-turned-den.
On your approach you hear whines and small howls of the cubs, presumably left behind while the others investigated. They quickly disappear into the night, headed in the direction of the carcasses, when your lights approach. Then the the den is empty and you begin your work.
Your party sees to collapsing the den. You don’t relish the act, but neither do you hesitate, caving in the shallow structure with stone and soil until it’s no longer a shelter, just a mess of rubble on the hill side. Nobody cheers or seems particularly proud of the deed, though Herlu takes time to urinate on the rocky mess in a claim to victory of his own sort.
“They will be fine. Find a new home, surely.”
The cleft where the iron runs waits, untouched.
Your party returns home over the coming days, reporting the find and the story of the wolves, and while there aren’t embellishments, nobody goes into much detail about getting rid of the resident animals. You do catch Herlu laughing with some of the warriors, though it’s unclear what tale he’s told.
Gyda begins preparing some folk to journey out there, come summer, to begin processing some of the ore and exploring its extent. Once the source of iron is worked, Gyda will begin building a forge in town.
Hauld Frida Hávarðr
Stats
Vigor [+1]
Mind [0]
Wit [+2]
Spirit [-1]
Skills
Boat making
Hávarðrfall
Honour: Suspect [-1]
Wyrd: Clouded [-1]
Loyalty: Steadfast [+1]
Wealth: Threadbare [-2]
Supply: Sufficient [-/+0]
Warriors: 18
Boats: 2
Oaths: Feðrstaðr (Father’s Place) hollow
Debts: a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson
As Summer arrives, what is the primary focus of Hávarðrfall?
>> Focusing on gathering and preserving more food and timber
>> Improving our homes and buildings
>> Mending our boats and building new ones
>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>> Seeking contact and/or trade with one of our neighbours (specify which)
>> Raiding nearby townships (specify which)
>> Write in
>>6256384>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>>6256384>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>BOATS
Boats enable trade, raids, fishing, & escape, should we be attacked while we're still a weak village. Not to mention our familial skill at working hulls.
>>6256384>Improving our homes and buildings
>>6256384>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>>6256384>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
>>6256384> Building a proper and worthy longhallSeems important
>> Building a proper and worthy longhall
Summer has come and the day to day life of Hávarðrfall seems to have evolved from survival to contentment. With long and golden days cast by the sun, and breezy nights at the water’s edge, you turn your mind to solidifying Hávarðrfall as a true Falheim township. Never did one stand, of course, without a proper longhall at its heart.
It’s not difficult to see what needs work - everything! The current central structure of town is barely a tent, still a little water damaged from the soaking snows of winter, and most other homes and storehouses, while humble themselves, put it to shame.
Your plan is ambitious, resource intensive, and long overdue - a longhall, raised at the centre of the village, facing the fjord. A place for counsel, feasting, shelter, and the telling of sagas. A hearth at its heart, walls strong enough to outlast storms and memory alike, and a place that offers folk rest and safety. Gyda has already begun marking timber for the frame and you spend the early days of Summer teaching some of the folk the fundamentals of working timber to your will.
As the foundation stones are laid, questions arise. Not all of them are about timber.
“Who will the hall belong to?” It’s Thorlef, an older kinsman and farmer, who asks you in front of the work party, brow furrowed as he watches the stones go down. “You? The people? Will it be sacred, or worldly? Are we building a hall, a throne, a shelter, a shrine? Your father always had a clarity about his longhall…”
You remember vividly how your father’s rule changed over his life. He had started so community focussed, collegiate with his kin, but time and bloody conflict and politics had shifted his mind. In time, his hall had become a place of authority - where etiquette was important, and where justice was handed down. You don’t think the slight spite in Thorlef’s words is imagined.
Others offer thoughts too. A group of women, hunters and weavers and tanners, suggest the hall could serve as a gathering place for learning and ceremony, not just leadership and feasting. Kjartan, your shadow since the spring hunt, seems content to work in silence, but you’ve seen him glance your way more than once, clearly wondering how this building might change the shape of your authority.
At the end of the week, the frame is standing, and the people await a word from you. What sort of hall are you raising?
>> “This hall will be that of my family and I, as Hauld. Like my father before me, it’ll be a place of judgement, command, leadership. Let it stand as proof that Hávarðrfall has a voice and an iron fist.” [Vigor, 4d6]
>> “Our hall will belong to all folk, and we will all use it together. For feast, fire, council and craft. Safety. I lead, but this hall binds us all. It will be the heart of Hávarðrfall.” [Mind, 3d6]
>> “Let this place be sacred. We raised it not for ourselves, but for the spirits that will walk this land in our long time here. Let it carry their souls, and let us feast and raise mugs with them, not just in their memory.” [Spirit, 2d6]
>> “This hall will belong to no one, and all will care for it. It will serve whatever purpose we need it, at any time, and will burn brightly as the soul of Hávarðrfall.” [Wit, 5d6]
>> “This hall will belong to everyone here and it’s not for me to decide it’s fate. Let folk decide - anyone who wants to have a voice, can. We will take ideas and, before these walls are raised, a count of polished stones. Let the people decide.”
Rolled 3, 1, 4 = 8 (3d6)
>>6256825>> “Our hall will belong to all folk, and we will all use it together. For feast, fire, council and craft. Safety. I lead, but this hall binds us all. It will be the heart of Hávarðrfall.” [Mind, 3d6]
Rolled 1, 2, 2, 5 = 10 (4d6)
>>6256825>> “This hall will be that of my family and I, as Hauld. Like my father before me, it’ll be a place of judgement, command, leadership. Let it stand as proof that Hávarðrfall has a voice and an iron fist.” [Vigor, 4d6]
>>6256825>> “This hall will belong to everyone here and it’s not for me to decide it’s fate. Let folk decide - anyone who wants to have a voice, can. We will take ideas and, before these walls are raised, a count of polished stones. Let the people decide.”Actually this is better
>WRITE-IN
>"The Hall shall be the heart of Hávarðrfall, just as my family have long been the heart of our folk. I shall live there and welcome all to feast in the times of plenty, as well as preside solemnly should the need arise to name someone as outlaw. We shall welcome the spirits of our ancestors to sit at our tables, though sacrifices to the Gods shall be made in places set aside for them."
>>6256825>This hall will belong to everyone here and it’s not for me to decide it’s fate. Let folk decide - anyone who wants to have a voice, can. We will take ideas and, before these walls are raised, a count of polished stones. Let the people decide.”
Rolled 1, 1, 5, 5 = 12 (4d6)
>>6256825>> “This hall will be that of my family and I, as Hauld. Like my father before me, it’ll be a place of judgement, command, leadership. Let it stand as proof that Hávarðrfall has a voice and an iron fist.” [Vigor, 4d6]>>6256825
>> “Our hall will belong to all folk, and we will all use it together. For feast, fire, council and craft. Safety. I lead, but this hall binds us all. It will be the heart of Hávarðrfall.” [Mind, 3d6]Unsuccessful!
>>6256842You speak to those gathered, voice raised beneath the wide, cloudless sky. “This hall will belong to all of us. It is no throne, no shrine, no court. It is the heart of Hávarðrfall, a place for counsel, feast, and craft. I lead, yes, but this hall binds us together. We shape it, and it will shape us in turn.”
Your words are steady. Measured. True, as far as you can tell. Alas, they don’t take. Not the way you hoped, anyway.
More than a few brows remain furrowed, perhaps unclear on what the decision actually means for them. Some folks, like Gyda and Kjartan, show you a quiet respect afterward, but they do not echo your words aloud. Others mutter as they return to their tasks, or exchange glances that speak of doubts left unvoiced. You catch Thorlef shaking his head as he walks away.
Over the coming fortnight folk continue the work of bringing the longhall to fruition - long planks are carved by hand, knotted together into a grand, steeped roof, and rough stone is hewn into the large hearth within the building. The floor inside, of dry dirt, is cover with straw and skins.
By month’s end, while still having a few rough edges, the hall is habitable. People rejoice, someone uncertainty though, and there is a reluctance among folk of how this new ‘heart of Hávarðrfall’ should be used. After a short period of this uncertainty, folk start to inhabit, sharing their meals there, warming themselves at night, sharing in company and tales alike. Most seem to enjoy.
One evening, before darkness has truly fallen, you overhear two of the younger men speaking near the fjord’s edge, finishing their spear fishing for the day. “If it belongs to all, it belongs to none,” one says. “Hard to say where we stand, then.” Replies the other. “A hall needs a spine, not just warmth. Who runs it?”
Your attempt at unity, at sharing leadership without surrendering it, seems to have blurred more lines than it clarified. The people were ready to build, but perhaps not ready for such change. Or perhaps they simply don’t yet know how.
For now, the hall stands - a shelter, if not yet a symbol.
Over early Summer, Gyda gets her forge - while still juvenile - active. Hávarðrfall’s Supply has increased.
Given the perceived uncertainty of leadership around the longhall, the town’s Loyalty has decreased.
Time to mention - dice rolls are looking for successes, and success on a personal level (using your 4 stats) is pretty easy. Success on an action doesn’t mean a positive outcome, though. You can very well always pick the bigger roles, but that doesn’t mean the option is best for the situation or will have the most favourable outcome, even ‘if successful’.
Hauld Frida Hávarðr
Stats
Vigor [+1]
Mind [0]
Wit [+2]
Spirit [-1]
Skills
Boat making
Hávarðrfall
Honour: Suspect [-1]
Wyrd: Clouded [-1]
Loyalty: Balanced [0]
Wealth: Threadbare [-2]
Supply: Comfortable [+1]
Warriors: 18
Boats: 2
Oaths: Feðrstaðr (Father’s Place) hollow
Debts: a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson
For the second month of Summer, what is the primary focus of Hávarðrfall?
>> Focusing on gathering and preserving more food and timber
>> Improving our homes and buildings
>> Mending our boats and building new ones
>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>> Seeking contact and/or trade with one of our neighbours (specify which)
>> Raiding nearby townships (specify which)
>> Write in
>>6257343>> Mending our boats and building new onesBotes
After boats, we should focus on expanding the village's stockpiles, improving homes & fortifications, as well as setting up a shrine for the Gods. The Standing Stone should serve that purpose. Once all that is done, we should begin trading with our neighbors, as well as seeking out relatives of those amongst our folk who would be interested in living with us to expand our numbers quickly & organically in regards to integrating them. That way we can get our number of warriors up short-term to provide for a more solid defense.
>>6257343>> Investing time in a shrine for worship by the clan
>>6257343>>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>>6257343>Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>>6257343>> Mending our boats and building new ones
>>6257343>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
>>6257338Still alive QM? I think the 'success doesn't mean enough was done to net a favourable outcome' or 'success means you succeed, but at what? Context matters.' is understood well enough. What I'm curious about is what equals a success? Are all the numbers added together into a sum and then compared to a DC they have to beat? Or are successes specific number(s) on a d6? All 6s or all 5s for example. If so, is that number always 5s or 6s or whatever, or can target numbers (on the face of the die) change based on context? What about number of successes, is one success always enough for a 'basic' success, with additional successes just adding degrees of success (or failure, if this isn't the case), or is there a changing number of successes needed based on context?
>>6257343>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a communityThis has to be done sometime, and times of plenty are as good a time as any. Though we should probably get around to building or improving our homes before the autumn rains or winter snows hit.
>> Turning attention inward, discussing the future of Hávarðrfall as a community
With the longhall’s frame standing tall, the iron site secured, and the wolves driven from your hills, the people of Hávarðrfall at last find themselves with breath enough to think beyond the next hunt, the next storm, the next threat.
And so you call them together. At first, it’s just your closest kin and trusted folk, gathered at dusk around the firepit in the shadow of the half-finished hall. Word spreads though and, by nightfall - as is the case on many nights, most of the village is there.
Around you faces glow in the firelight and there is avid, hushed debate amongst folk.
You speak plainly of what is on everyone’s mind.
“We have food. Timber. Iron. A hall that will soon be ours. But what is Hávarðrfall? What shall we be? What will we stand for when strangers come to our shores, or when our children’s children speak our name?” You pause, making sure it is clear to all what your intention is from this moot. “My father before me, he always had a clear vision for his family and his clan. Now it is our turn to forge a future for our combined name.”
The silence doesn’t linger long. Once people realise the discussion is genuinely open to all, voices are thrown into the mix, and the night wears long with discussion.
Gyda, the old smith, has a very clear yet predictable sentiment. “We should be a folk of craft, of making and building what the fjords and hills demand of us. Not just boats, but tools, weapons, things of beauty and use. Let other clans waste themselves on raiding and squabbling while we trade and prosper.”
Thorlef, the old farmer who didn’t seem satisfied with your decision on the longhall, adds his conservative whims to the mix. “I say we keep to what we are - farmers, fishers, loggers. Simple folk with no need to look beyond these shores. It’s pride that draws the eye of trouble, always has been, and it’s the pride that led us into this exile. Let us be humble, and we’ll endure long after the loud ones fall.” His words bite a little, but you try not to take them as an affront to your father directly, as you see more than a few nods of agreement.
Herlu, like Gyda, is predictable, though it is clear he has thought through his words. There’s nothing rash about his conqueror's voice. “We should stand as a stronghold in the north, a place where folk know they can find justice, and protection, when all other places fail. Not just on land, either, but on the waters of the fjord. It has been too long since warriors of the Hávarðr line rowed the fjords.”
Kjartan, who has been more distant of late, offers a quiet voice to the fray. “There’s no reason we can’t be all these things. But whatever path we choose, we should be known for it. We have a chance here to be more than another settlement clinging to the fjord’s edge. Let’s make Hávarðrfall a name sung in halls beyond these waters. People should know what it is we build here.”
As discussion begins to die down - or, in some cases, spiral around itself in circles - many eyes land back to you, the Hauld, to weigh in.
Decide who you would like to support/embrace, question further, or dismiss. You may also raise an entirely new line of speculation for debate.
>> Write in
waiting
md5: 39d8045092a1895e2f42de1c099d7fc3
🔍
Sorry, life got busy and every time I jumped on there was a tie, so ran with that excuse
>>6259812Success system, where one success seals the deal. I haven’t yet factored in multiple successes, but could in future. 6’s are outright success, 5’s are "success, but". Everything else is a failure of some kind.
Baseline rolls are 3d6, so a stat that adds +1 makes it 4d6, or a -1 makes it 2d6. Stats that have a -3 are 1d6-1, therefore no ‘full successes’ are possible. I’ll reserve these stats for really horrific attributes or failings in future.
Issues with this system so far is that taking the first roll of the winning vote as ‘the’ roll means people can just not vote for an option because they know it has no successes. Maybe changing to rolling after a vote is sealed in future.
>>6260503We should be all these things, but in order to do that we need to be larger and stronger first. Start by creating large families and working collectively.
>Invite the extended family/clan members of those gathered from other villages so that we may increase our numbers organically
>>6260503Agree with Gyda and Herlu
>>6260503>We have a blood-debt to Osmond Ufisson that must be repaid. This cannot be ignored. To reap payment we must grow martially strong. So, this must be our first priority. Trade attracts attention yes, but it also strengthens ties, garners wealth, and yes brings other people's problems to us. Nonetheless we must trade, because otherwise we will be weaker and isolated. But we shall not craft and trade for its own sake, it is all in service of vengeance and so what happened before does not occur again. Ufisson is no doubt stronger than before, and his gaze will eventually come to encompass the entire fjord, so quietly working fields, plying the seas, and cutting trees will offer no protection from his ambitions, or that of other raiders. We must be ready.Basically agree with Gyda and Herlu, but emphasize Herlu's ideology more. Also I'll support
>>6260603 and
>>6260627 too.
>>6260627Me, naturally, but I also agree with
>>6260915Until we restore our Honor we'll be spurned by Gods & Men, but we can't take our revenge without numbers, boats, & steel.
I'm going to park it there anons, feels like the steam has run out.
Will continue a with a new thread early next week or on the weekend if there is demand, and will take into account any further discussion here. Otherwise thanks for playing
>>6264187Thanks for running.
