Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Birmver Deities

Hildr - Giantess of war, valor, and honor
  • Name means "battle"
  • One of the Valkyrie (a group of 12)
  • Raises the valiant dead from the battlefield and takes them to Folkvangr/Valhalla

Brynhildr - Jotunsdotter, The Shieldmaiden
  • Names means "battle armor"
  • The first of the Jotunsdottrar
  • Ascended into demigod status beside her mother Hildr

Angrboda - Mother of Beasts, Giantess of wolves and monsters
  • Name means "one who brings grief" or "she-who-offers-sorrow"
  • Also known as Iárnvidia, "She of the Iron Wood"
  • Mother of the wolf Fenrir, the world-serpent Jormundgandr, and the goddess Hel
    • Also countless other monsters
  • Her monstrous children are meant to test the Jotunsdottrar

Skadi - Giantess of winter, hunting, and justice

  • Name means either "harm" or "shadow"
  • Lives on the highest mountain peak where the snow never melts
  • Instead of darkness, cold, and death, she represents survival and subsistence through winter
  • Invented snowshoes and skis

Hyndla - Giantess of bloodlines, prophecy, and shamanism (dogs)
  • Names means "hound"
  • Lives deep in an ice cave in the homeland guarded by ettins
  • Appears as a very old wisewoman, bent with age to a height not much greater than human
  • Seemingly asleep most of the time
  • Travels about in the astral realm ("faring forth") tracing every creature's ancestry
  • Can follow a bloodline from the past to make a prediction about the future

Odin - God of battle, knowledge, poetry, magic, and runes
  • Name means "inspiration, rage, frenzy"
  • Called the All-Father
    • Has literally dozens of different names as he regularly adopts disguises
  • Sacrificed an eye for knowledge, wisdom, and the "far sight"
  • Somewhat popular among the Vos and Varsk
    • Tolerated by the Jotunsdottrar as Odin's mother was a giantess (Bestla)
  • Considered a conniving and inscrutable deity
    • Known to favor certain mortals to the detriment of others
      • As long as Odin's chosen come out on top
      • Particularly favors berserkers and warrior-shamans (bear and wolf totems)
    • Also known as a god of outcasts and outlaws
    • Also the patron god of magic-users (typically considered a feminine art among the Vos/Varsk but a masculine one among the Jotunsdottrar)
  • Rides the eight-legged horse Sleipnir, wields the magic spear Gungnir, and is accompanied by his familiar (fylgjur/fylgja) ravens (Hugin and Munin) and his wolves (Geri and Freki)

Thor Odinsson - God of battle, storms, strength, and the Vos/Varsk
  • Name means "thunder" and "son of Odin"
  • Called the Giant-Slayer
  • Wields the magic hammer Mjollnir (which means "lightning")
  • Very popular among the Vos and Varsk, particularly as you move inland
    • Barely tolerated by the Jotunsdottrar as Thor's father was half-giant and his mother, Jord, was a giantess
    • Not wise to call him "Odinsson" or especially "Giant-Slayer" within hearing range of a Jotunsdotter
  • Viewed as the god who safeguards civilization

Freyr + Freya - God and goddess of elves, warriors, magic
  • Names mean "lord" and "lady"
  • Androgynous sibling-spouses of the elven pantheon
  • Skilled at war, magic, poetry, and art
Snorri - Placehold god for dwarves

Birmver - Names

A list of randomly generated names to use for towns and people (NPCs, henchmen, etc.) in Birmver. The random generator used (which I unfortunately did not bookmark) states that it uses real names from historical Norse towns. The people names might not be historical but are supposed to be drawn from real Norse names.


As of this writing, none have been assigned.
  
Towns (names with * are for Vos/Varsk settlements):
  • Havarvarf*
  • Skutilsfjuror
  • Osvifsloekr
  • Krossavik*
  • Grenmarr*
  • Oddgeirsholar
  • Hroarsholt
  • Hranafall
  • Grimsdalr*
  • Krofluhellir
  • Bragaoss
  • Gunnsteinar*
  • Lonland*
  • Kirkjusandr
  • Jannaskaro
 
 People:

Male (half of these names came from dropping -son from last names):
  • Arinbjorn
  • Sibbi
  • Gest
  • Dag
  • Skuli
  • Modolf
  • Svafar
  • Hrodgoeir
  • Gudlaug
  • Ketilbiorn
  • Jorund
  • Hrapp
  • Ornulf
  • Valthjof
  • Audgisil
  • Gnupa
  • Hreidar
  • Gudmund
  • Raudebjorn
  • Tjorvi
Female (half of these names were taken from dropping -dottir from last names and might therefore be male but they are wholly fine to use for women in Birmver):
  • Bergljot
  • Tonna
  • Reginleif
  • Ingrid
  • Jodis
  • Ingithera
  • Sigvor
  • Hallfrid
  • Nidbiorg
  • Audhild
  • Melkorka
  • Gjaflaug
  • Ormhild
  • Hervor
  • Luta
  • Guthny
  • Tufi
  • Authulf
  • Sighad
  • Mak
  • Ingimund
  • Vermund
  • Gunbjorn
  • Giermund
  • Thorgeir
  • Thurid
  • Lini
  • Geri
  • Jarlabanki
  • Aerika
  • Hjorvif
  • Frist
A few name elements in Norse. Elements marked * were distinctly female. There are way more of these and any of them are appropriate for Birmver characters.
  • -bjorn = bear
  • -dis* = goddess, woman, lady
  • Gud- = god, good
  • -laug = celebrate marriage, dedicated, promised
  • -mund = protector
  • -vif* = woman, wife
  • -son = son (uncommon for the Jotunsdottrar but used widely amongst the Vos/Varsk)
  • -leif = heir, descendant
  • -ulf = wolf
  • -hild = battle, fight
  • -ny* = new, fresh, young
  • Sig- = victory
  • -veig* = power, strength

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

Black Pudding Lake

Inspired by a critique of World's Largest Dungeon that mentioned a black pudding with extra HD.


I saw in my mind a vast underground lake. However, the water was actually a colossal black pudding. The party arrived at its shore and spotted a large, flat boat carved from solid stone. Such a boat would never float on water but stone is the only material that can withstand the powerful acids exuded by a black pudding.


The black pudding is a viscous ooze, so the boat cannot just float across it like on water. No wind will sail the vessel in the sticky stuff. No oars can propel through the muck. No pole can find purchase in the lakebed far below. Instead, the party has to manipulate the black pudding into moving the boat by tossing wooden or metal objects into the slime behind them. The black pudding reacts to such "food" by swelling and engulfing the prize, thus shunting the boat a short distance in the opposite direction.


Of course, that does mean the party must find a way to move the incredibly heavy boat onto the pudding in the first place, and far enough from shore to accommodate its strange propulsion.

Friday, August 25, 2017

Ghost Dog Castle Compound

From a Cracked article,

"First, Ailes quickly decided he needed to buy up all the properties surrounding his new house so that he could have a Soviet Union-style property buffer zone.

http://virtualglobetrotting.com/map/roger-ailes-house-1/view/google/

He didn't mean for the vegetation to die and the animals to ooze black liquid from their eyes, but it was a welcome development.
On top of that, Ailes put together an underground bunker filled with approximately six months' worth of survival rations -- you know, just in case some Kenyan Muslim got elected president or something. Further terrified that "liberal New Yorkers" might get to him or his family somehow, he got the family a German Shepherd that went everywhere with them and was trained to patrol the grounds before Ailes got out of the car upon arriving home. However, what good is a bloodthirsty dog if it can't also bring you a truly fair and balanced newspaper?"