In my Norse D&D campaign each player was asked to give their character's perspective of the Battle of Norgard, their home village. Here it is. My character was Magnus, Sean had Ina, Joel had Sigurd, Christine had Kara, Zoe had Isgerd, Brian had Aesa but did not write a description. These are un-edited for grammar or content:
From Ina:
Finally! Home!
We waited at the cave entrance in ambush, and were not dissapointed. about
25 slaves were guarded by a dozen chieftain Pukje who were leading about
threescore of their lackeys. Flanking the group were a couple of fire
giants. They saw us first, and we closed as the chieftains lobbed f-balls
and other sorcerous magics at us. We quickly dispatched the cheiftains and I
gave the Sword Ina it's first taste of Giant blood in untold ages, and it
liked it so much it decided to take the whole thing! The fire giant Bellie
dissapeared in a green cloud of dust which settled into the snowy ground, to
mix in with the pukje gore we spilt that battle. After the other giant and
pukje chieftains were killed (some tried to run, but you know Aesa couldn't
let that happen)
the rest of the orc pukje were slaughtered by claw, blade and boot.
Sif and Sigmund led the freed Norgardians and the party back to the cave,
where we found that 4 of the prisoners had been charmed by Bergar, and it
was they who were the telepathic focus! We were then being scryed upon, but
we knew not who the focus was. Those who had been charmed were released by
Sigurd's playing of his harp and wanted to go off on their own to draw away
our persuer's who were most assuredly coming. We let them go, and sent the
rest of the refugees to another hidden cave while we took Sif and Sigmund
with us to fight Bergar in his longhouse, thinking it would be easier since
he wouldn't have his "reiforcements" around him. We Teleported using the
Sword Ina's power. What we found astounded us: Norgard humans, too weak to
work, were roasting on open spits in the center of the house, while Bergar
and Smid the Squid lounged with their bodyguard frost giants and attendant
devils. Bergar sat in his chair as we fought his host, and Smid flew over on
his dark wings and joined the melee. I was caught in among the giants, and
couldn't get at that sodden demon. Hildegunn started the combat off with a
mighty fireball that well started the longhouse ablaze, but did not harm a
wing of those gate-touched monsters. ongiant, though, was consumed in a
blink by those eldrich fire-tongues. At length, Bergar thought he had a good
idea of all our capabilities, and left with Smid and the rest of the devils,
leaving the remaining giants to be slaughtered. When I saw this, I yelled
"Coward", and slew the nearest giant with strength I had saved for that
decietfull, pact-making lump of animated sulfur dung. Now we are at the
entrance of the longhouse, the rear of which is fully involved in being
burnt to the ground. We must leave from here, but to where? The last words
of Bergar the Usurper ring in our ears: "Now that I know you, please come
and watch as I put the rest of the slaves to death tomorrow morning at the
lawrock..."
As told by Kara Thorsdottir:
Our plan was to sneak into Norgaard as quietly as possible to free some of our kinfolk and delay Burgar's finding us. We also did not want him to know how powerful and dangerous we were. All of us wore ragged, plain cloaks to cover ourselves, obscuring our most impressive weapons (although Sigurd gave me his greatsword to wield in case we met some devils). Aesa wore the Helm of Odin but covered it with some furs (covering the horns was a problem). Isgerd and Hildegunn cast stone skin and bear's heart upon nearly all of us.
We started atop a hill covered with trees, just to the west of the tunnel down to the mine. Sif and Sigmund waited in the background so that they could assist the slaves to safety. In the fields below, we saw about 25 Norgaardians, mostly men, on their way to the mine. They still looked somewhat strong and healthy compared to the other slaves. But they were surrounded by orc pukje and three fire giants, with five hobgoblin pukje lurking further away. In spite of attempts to go unnoticed, a couple of us stumbled a bit and caught the giants' attention (I think some of the orcs heard us,too, but they were too stupid to figure out we were there). Of course, the whole time Magnus could barely contain himself so he thought that since they had noticed us, he might as well run right for them. Soon the frenzy of battle had overtaken me too. Sigurd and Ina and Aesa followed, while Vikar, Isgerd, and Hildegunn stayed on the hill.
While we slew the frail orcs and fire giants, the hobgoblins cast some fireballs on Magnus and me. Aesa killed three of the hobgoblins and Sigurd killed the other two (one he encountered on a roof). Fortunately, none of our fellow Norgaardians were hurt in the fight and we were able to quickly get them to the cave. Ina sensed with her helm that each of them were grateful to be free.
All seemed to be going well until we returned to the cave, when four of them looked up at the sky and cried "Burgar! Here we are! Please get us--we only want to make you happy!" This took us by surprise, and we soon realized that these four had been charmed. We suspected Burgar was scrying on us, and Isgerd had an image of Burgar in his fortress saying "send the reinforcements." Sigurd played the harp to dispel the charm from the charmed villagers, but there was no time to waste. Burgar knew we had come to end his treacherous reign.
The villagers quickly left the cave to find another hiding place, and the four who had been charmed decided that they would go a separate way as to not endanger the others. Meanwhile, after much discussion, our party decided to teleport directly to Burgar's fortress to face him now.
When we appeared in what was once Gunnar's meadhouse, we found a dark and gruesome hall filled with a multitude of devils and four frost giants. At the head of the hall, we saw Burgar and Smid, who were no longer men but were hideous beings that seemed to be both reptile and insect. At the center of the hall were two bonfires, upon which roasted the bones of humans.
And so we fought the devils and frost giants. The devils were fairly easy to kill, especially with the Devil's Food sword. Vikar wielded the Arm of Zeus (yes, the bear wielded the arm) and smote several of them. Smid also joined the fight, and Magnus taunted him with pitiful stories of his leadership of Trodheim. Hildegunn hurled a firestorm which engulfed several of the devils and Burgar--this killed one of the frost giants, although Burgar and the devils seemed unharmed as they stood within the pillar of flame, even as it spread to the walls of the hall. At one point, Aesa tried to use the Helm of Odin against Smid, but it seemed to affect herself instead, as she had to use all of her will to resist.
As we slew the giants and devils, Burgar calmly sat watching us, telling us he admired our "artifacts," as he called the helm and arm. Yet as the flames continued to consume the hall, Burgar said he would now depart but would see us again as he slaughtered our townsfolk at Noon the next day. "Please join us then," he said to us. And then he turned to the three remaining frost giants and said "I am so sorry, but you have each let me down." Then he disappeared. And then Smid, who was still suffering Magnus' taunts as well as his blows, claimed he was "bored" and also disappeared, followed by the rest of the devils. So we had only the three frost giants to contend with.
The giant Balthor then cursed us since his day had started so well--just this morning Burgar had said he was his favorite guard. Then he was killed. Then Eggthor said that Burgar had said just this morning that he too had been the favorite guard. And then he was killed. And right after that, the giant Scrog (who was naked and drooling over Ina, even as she pounded him with her sword--not a pretty sight) said that just that morning, Burgar had told him he smelled bad (but he still knew he was Burgar's favorite). Then he was killed.
And then we hurried out of the burning hall, happy to have killed some frost giants and devils, but knowing that Burgar, Smid, and the other devils still awaited us, as well as the fate of Norgaard.
THE BATTLE AT THE MINES (Isgerd)
After gathering information, we decided to attempt to free the slaves nearest the mines.
I had cast pass without trace on us, and along with Hildegunn cast defensive spells on some of the group. We hid among some trees on a hill by the mine, while Sigmund and Sif hid behind the hill. They would come out to lead the freed slaves away as soon as possible. We spotted the slaves surrounded by pukje and fire giants. Unfortunately, one of the giants spotted some of us up on the hill and yelled, "SLAVES ON THE HILL!!!"
With our cover blown, Magnus decided to rush into battle. He was followed by Kara and Ina. Sigerd, with Aesa hiding behind him, moved off in another direction to sing and flank. Hildegunn, myself and Vikar remained on the hill. Our foes were ready for us and attacked first. They had pukje spell casters, three of whom cast fireballs which caught Magnus, Kara, and Ina by surprise. Fortunately, they were able to avoid the full effect of the fire. One cast a fireball at Sigerd. He avoided the majority of the damage while Aesa somehow avoided any damage (possibly a dive into a snow bank?). Four other pukje cast magic missile at our fighters, mainly at Magnus.
Our fighters then began to deal some major damage to our foes. Ina wailed on a giant. One blow and we saw him dissintegrate from the wound outward. She did this at least two more times during the battle. Magnus and Kara took care of the other giants. The giants were slow, but dealt alot of damage, so it was good when they were gone. Kara and Magnus then turned their blades on the pukje grunts and sorcerers, who weren't much of a threat or a challenge.
Sigerd jumped up onto a house where one of the magic using pukje had climbed and dispatched it quickly. Aesa attacked another, licked the blood from her blade and finished it off. She then tunbled through a group of pukje grunts, none of which managed to hit her though they tried, and dealt with a magic using pukje. Hildegunn either used a wand or a spell of magic missile to keep some of the spellcasters from casting again. Vikar helped with his bow. Isgerd tried to use her wand of hold person on a measly pukje, but it was pretty useless. She tossed it aside and ran into battle as soon as the giants were dispatched. She was very pleased to end the life of one of the pukje herself. Magnus eventually got bored, ripped his shirt off and growled at the remaining pukje. They pissed themselves and ran.
Isgerd then cast pass without trace on the slaves, and Sigmund and Sif led them back to the safe cave. Suddenly, four slaves spoke up, "Did you see that Burgar? Did you see how we got here? Are you pleased?" Our victory was shortlived. Hildegunn discovered we were being scried upon. Sigerd removed the charm person from the slaves with his song and harp. Isgerd saw and informed the others that Bergar was now sending his response team to attack us.
The four Norgardian's who had been charmed volunteered to go off in one direction. They still had a telepathic link with Bergar or someone else, and would try to lead them astray. The other men and women went in another direction. We decided to assault Burgar in the mead hall immediately. We cast invisibility spells on some people. Magnus finally asked for a stone skin. He felt Burgar would be a mighty foe. Our other defensive spells were still in effect.
THE BATTLE IN THE MEAD HALL
Ina teleported our group, Sif and Sigmund into the mead hall. We found ourselves among a den of devils and frost giants. WThe hall stank with the scent of burning norgardian flesh. Some poor souls were being roasted over the fire pit in the middle of the room. We also immediately noticed Bergar and Smid the Swimmer in the room.
Bergar said he liked the direct approach, then ordered his minions attack us. He pointed a wand at Sigmund, but Sigmund avoided whatever effect was supposed to take place. Bergar spoke to him, "I have chased you for a long time. I did not think it would be easy. But there will be more chances."
I was immediately beset by Smid with a whip and some devils joined him, so could not get any spells off. I did take in the dimensions of the room in the event I could dispatch my foes and then get a chance to cast. I decided most of my fire spells would not be a good idea. Fortunately, Smid missed me with his whip. Then Magnus came up and hurled many excellent insults at him, distracting Smid away from me. I saw many devils slashing at empty air and thought, "They must be slashing at one of our group. I hope no one gets hurt. I won't be able to find them to heal them."
Vikar had the Arm of Zeus attached to his front leg and dealt some mighty damage with it. Bugar noticed this and said, "Ah, an artifact. Very interesting. I wonder if I have one of those in my collection?"
Suddenly, a fireball went off around Bergar, some of his devils and one of the frost giants. The frost giant went up in a screaming mass of steam, but Bergar and the devils were unphased. Bergar said, "Ah, the witch. I haven't seen you in a long time. Kill her." Bergar backed away from the smoke to get a better view of us; the devils came forward; and the mead hall began to burn. I thought that Hildegun must be very excited to fireball Bergar without thinking of the mead hall or the desk Bergar was standing behind. So much for any information that may have been stored there!
Ina, Kara and Magnus did what they do best, wack away at the frost giants. Sigerd took on devils with his new sword. When he struck them, they shrieked and collapsed in a mass of putrid ooze.
From empty air, I saw a red beam leap out and hit a frost giant. I thought that Aesa must be using the helm. Bergar noticed this and spoke again, "Another artifact. Very interesting. Well, I've seen all I require. Smid, let's go. Oh, by the way, we're going to kill all the slaves in the pens tomorrow. Goodbye." He then addressed his frost giants, telling them they weren't pulling their weight. He snapped his fingers and was gone.
Smid then spoke to us, saying, "By the way, we've crucified Gunar in the courtyard." He then disappeared with the remaining devils.
Even as they fought, the frost giants argued amongst themselves as to who Bergar liked better. Idiots. I decided they would not be worth trying to convince to join our side, and said nothing as Magnus, Kara and Ina hacked them to pieces.
We then quickly left the mead hall. Fortunately, the doors were near us and not blocked by the fire. What to do now? Try to rescue more slaves or find some place to hide and rememorize spells?
Battle for Norgard: Magnus:
Our plan to kill pukje and rescue our people was daring and brought much glory to us. I chewed on my axe handle to contain the growing battle lust. Just thinking about the blood of my enemies makes my blood burn. Fortunately Sigurd FINALLY gave the signal to attack, snapping a branch under his boot to let me know I must attack now. I flew down the side of the hill, all other sounds and sights lost, only the black of Firegiant face and the sickly orange and green of pukje face remained in my vision. The cowardly pukje launched all their evil spells with all the fury they could muster, but all I noticed was my axe chopping through the thigh bone of the stupid giant in my way. I did notice Ina hit her opponent with such fury that she sliced through the other giant leaving no remains on the field to mark her glory. I tried to mimic this attack and with all of my fury I chopped into the giant who still hadn’t had the good sense to fall over and provide a meal for the ravens. Unlike Ina, blood, fingers and eyes were splashed upon the pukje near me and my clothes were covered with the inside of the giant’s thoughts. I wonder how Ina kept her clothes so clean? I digress. I saw no chance to increase our fame on the battlefield and that made me very angry. I tore my gore splattered clothing and flexed my muscles in a fit of rage to show the pukje remaining that I was not pleased that they were so weak. Hopefully, they ran off to find me someone worth killing. Our Norse comrades were taken to our hidden camp. Some had been tainted with the foul sorcery of Bergar the Bold. Sigurd cleansed them of the filth of Bergar and we split up our forces to confuse the enemy. I must have been busy drinking mead because the next thing I knew I was in Gunnar’s Mead Hall.
We arrived at Gunnar’s Mead Hall…Was I drinking? I forget the details of how I got there. But my heart was glad because all of my enemies had been delivered to me on a platter. Bergar sat back, gaining no glory, resting and feasting on the bones of our kin, while his warriors rushed us. Smid the swimmer from Trodheim attacked Isgerd, although Smid was much uglier than I remembered. I reminded Smid about how poorly he ran Trodheim and suggested that was why he was hanging back from battle, beneath Bergar’s dress. Smid attacked me with his whip, no glory in men’s weapons, and I countered with Frosik, but could not pierce his hide. I unharnessed the trollspear and was gladdened to see it pierce his foul hide. The pleasures of combat must have overcome me because I noticed I was getting very hot and smelled smoke. The battle was far too short though, suddenly Bergar and Smid were throwing insults and vanished, if they had any honor they would have stayed to fight, but instead felt that their complaints and threats would wound us worse than their whips and swords. Did Bergar even attack? I remember the very real threat Bergar made to us… “Please join me near the farm tomorrow so that you may watch me kill the remainder of your people”. Smid said something about a crucified Gunnar as well. The battle was over and I noticed that Gunnar’s Mead Hall was burning down around us. Gunnar needed a new rug anyway. I must now consult with my kin to convince them to crush Bergar now. The fool is probably sitting in the farm fields thinking that we would wait all night doing nothing, like he would do.
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This is good! Click on the Link! Hope was considered by many to be the greatest of the gods gifts given to Pandora. When all of the other gifts were lost from Pandora's box Hope remained. Some saw this as a curse, but Hope is something we need as human beings to survive above all else. For eight years I have felt the dark tendrils of Fear, Hatred, Intolerance and Ignorance wrapping a tight noose around my hopes for a better world. Our President, twice given the role through fraud and corruption lead us away from hope. His will be a legacy of war, death, dishonor, hopelessness, ignorance, stubborness and disrespect all while supposedly working as a messenger of God. Ambroise Bierce said that Religion is the daughter of Hope and Fear teaching to ignorance the nature of the unknowable. How true these words sound when looking back at the religio-facscist rule of the US under George W. Bush. We must never forget how we came to this point. Those of us who voted for George W. Bush must look deeply within themselves to understand why it is they felt their sacred votes should go to a man of such base character. A dark cloud has lifted but the storm still claps thunderously in the distance. We are not a nation free of racism because we have elected Obama. We are not a nation without fears or ignorances now that Obama is our rightly elected President. What we are is a people trying to remember who we are or at least, who we think we are. Electing Obama is the first step toward Hope. Obama is no god. He cannot make the world economy recover with a wave of his hand nor strike away hatred, racism and intolerance wherever he looks out. Obama is the symbol and the leader. We are the voice and the energy that moves him. Will we go back to our lives and forget what a lack of concern over politics accomlishes in a republic? Will we stand up as adults and as citizens and cry out against injustice? We are each the superhero we have envisioned Obama has become if only we cling to our Hope, dismiss our fears and return to the principles of our Constitution. We can do this. We can blast away the legacy of Bush and Cheney with our energy for change. We can destroy the military industrial complex and build a complex with a foundation of hope, peace and compassion. What do we believe? Who do we want to be? We still have a choice. The window is open, but it will not remain open forever if we do nothing. My wife will deny this especially knowing me, but this health study says that women have more bacteria on their hands than men. Although most bacteria is harmless it's worth noting the next time your girl tells you that you are a germbag (probably just me...) that it's not you who's the problem! Okay, this christian organization obviously has no idea what Jesus was talking about. A group of D&D players at Gencon donated $16,000 to charity in the name of Gary Gygax and the organization turned it down because D&D is evil! As an atheist and a DM since 1981 I must be lower on the food chain than green slime on the 10th level of the dungeon. |
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