The Northmen
"Deliver us, O Lathander, from the fury of the Northmen"The term Northmen refers to one of several seagoing, usually warlike, peo¬ples found along the Sword Coast north of Waterdeep and the islands to the west, including Tuern, Gundarlun, and Ruathym in the Trackless Sea and Norheim and Norland in the Moon- shaes. The tall, fair-haired, sea-loving Northmen barbarians were the third human people in the north. According to dwarven records, the peaceful Ice Hunters had ranged the far North for centuries and the folk of lost Netheril had dwelled along the Narrow Sea for millennia before the Northmen arrived. The Northmen's primitive ancestors built small villages along the Sword Coast. Many grew into places of impor¬tance, including fabled Illusk (ancient Luskan), Eigersstor (now Neverwinter), Port Llast, and Nimoar's Hold, which the world now knows as Waterdeep. The early Northmen avoided the wild interior. They farmed the rocky, but rich coastal lands, fished coastal waters warmed by deep north-bound cur¬rents, hunted deer in the forests, seals in the coastal rocks, and whales in the depths of the Trackless Sea. Yet with the coming of summer, the call of the sea would be irresistible to the young men and they would go a-raiding. From Kythorn to early Marpenoth, the fierce, barbaric battle-cries of Northmen were heard in Lantan, Amn, and Tethyr; in Calimshan and other countries and cities of the Shining Sea, even as far south as fabled Nimbral. These wild barbarians explored the Trackless Sea, discovering Tuern, Gun- darlun, Ruathym, The Purple Rocks, the Whalebones, and eventually the Moonshaes (though others had been there before them). Other Northmen braved and explored the orc-infested interior, becoming the human partners of The Fallen Kingdom, ancestors of the Uthgardt tribes, and mercenaries for lost Ascalhorn. Though they are often referred to as barbarians, not all Northmen fit this classification. Along the Sword Coast, many of these barbaric sea raiders have become civilized, primarily due to the influence of southern folk. They farm, fish, and mine their rugged lands, then smartly trade their goods with south¬ern merchants. Many once-feared raid¬ers have become merchants whose skill at bargaining equals or betters the warlike talents of their ancestors, such that many a Northman merchant returns with more southern booty than do the raiders. Still, an edge of savagery remains. The Northmen of Luskan and the islands are fierce and warlike. The war¬rior known as the berserker is more often than not a Northman. Fierce, fear¬less dragonships ply the northern waters, wiley pirates who are able to outrun and outmanuever heavily-laden merchant galleons. And each summer, the fierce, barbaric battle-cries of Northmen raiders still ring loud in the south. Northmen Attitudes The barbaric Northmen are bold, macho, impetuous, fierce in battle, and callous in their treatment of others. Foreigners (read as "not Northmen") and non-humans are treated with respect only if their skill in battle is obvious. Otherwise, they are weak¬lings, deserving scorn from "real men." Like other barbarians, Northmen dis¬like magic and magic-users. In rural communities or on outer islands like Tuern and the Purple Rocks, magic-use is punishable by death. Clerics are treated with aloof disdain (even Northmen shamans receive little respect). Northmen love a good fight and prize physical strength and weapon prowess above all other things. To prove them¬selves, the Northmen constantly wage war with whomever they feel that they can defeat. It is uncommon to find a Northman kingdom that is NOT at war. They enjoy hearty food, somber songs, good drink (particularly mead and ale), treat their women with respect, but value and cherish the pre¬cious long ships beyond other property or family. True Northmen derive sensu¬al pleasure from the appearance of a sleek long ship, its gracefully curving lines slicing easily through even rough seas. Weapons and Proficiencies The battle ax is the Northman's weapon of choice. With ax in one hand and a sturdy shield in the other, the North¬man believes he can conquer the world. Missile weapons other than the javelin are considered weaklings' tools since they do not rely on the pure strength of the warrior. At sea, Northmen raiders rarely wear armor heavier than studded leather and shield. Metal armor drags one down to Umberlee's bosom too quickly. For land raids, chainmail is donned by those lucky enough to own it. A Northman king or High Captain usually possesses plate mail. The island Northmen possess all the primary skills known by barbarians (survival, first aid, outdoor craft, and tracking) and know the following ter¬tiary skills: running and small craft, rowed.
Gods of the Northmen
The surly Northmen are not what one would call a "religious" people. They pay grudging homage to several gods only because those powers have con¬trol over things the Northmen do not. Tempus, the god of battles, is the only deity who receives more than cursory piety. Likewise, the earthly agents of the gods, normally shamans, are treated with similar callousness, having a lower status than warriors. Clerics and sha¬mans are rare and are seldom more powerful than 7th or 8th level. The deities whom the Northmen hon¬or include Auril, the Frostmaiden; Tem¬pus, the Lord of Battles; Umberlee, the Bitch Queen; and occasionally Valkur the Mighty. In rare instances Malar is worshipped, but usually only by those berserkers who revel in battle fury. Northmen rarely devote themselves to one god, but honor their three primary deities: Tempus, Auril and Umberlee, when they are within that deity's sphere of influence. The Northmen see Auril as thebringer of winter on the world, an important part of their existence. They placate her with offerings of food and strong drink in autumn and winter, placed upon rafts set adrift at sea. In times of dire distress, human sacrifices may be the meal placed on the raft. Such sacrifices are usually taken from prisoners or slaves, but not always. Warriors worship Tempus before bat¬tles. He is the berserker's patron, pro¬tector of those who succumb to berserking frenzy. He too takes human sacrifice — prisoners taken in battle. The seafaring Northmen give great respect (and fear) to Umberlee, goddess of oceans, waves and currents —the ocean gladly accepts their customary sacrifices before each voyage. The long¬er the journey, the greater the sacrifice. As with other Northmen deities, Umberlee receives human sacrifices. She is believed to cause shipwrecks and drownings, and is the mistress of the sharks that endanger stranded sailors. Berserkers Some Northmen fighters (a 20% chance per individual) have the ability to drive themselves into a berserker frenzy in battle. Warriors who demonstrate this aptitude are often gathered by their king into a royal bodyguard or unit of elite soldiers. The fighters can bring on the berserker rage simply by contem¬plating imminent combat, or in response to a surprise attack. Berserker Northmen receive either a +2 bonus to hit, or they may attack twice per round (never both) and need never check morale. For the purposes of BATTLESYSTEM™ Fantasy Combat Supplement rules, they have a disci¬pline of 0. If a player wishes to avoid having his Northmen consumed by ber¬serker rage, he can make a morale check before the fighters go berserk. This check suffers a -2 penalty, but if it succeeds, the Northmen do not become berserk during that fight. Dragon Ships of 'the North The long ship of the North is the love of the Northman's life. You will never find one of these war ships used as a fishing vessel. Also known as "dragon ships" due to the carved figureheads mounted on many of these proud northern war¬ships, they conform closely to the drakkar (the Viking Dragon Ship described in the DMG, pp. 53-54). The long ship is a square-sailed, oared ship with a single mast that can be unstep¬ped (removed). Their open, deckless, relatively light hulls are "clinker" built, that is, with overlapping planks riveted together. This flexible hull lets the ship sail over the waves, instead of having to force its hull through them. In moun¬tainous seas, though, the open hold makes even the flexible long ship sus¬ceptible to foundering. Long ships are the fastest ships along the Sword Coast in most weather. Even the multi-masted caravels of the south cannot outrun a long ship with a strong breeze at its stern. A typical long ship is crewed by 40 men, warriors all. Each warrior's sea chest is his oar bench. See the Ships of the North table in Islands of the North for long ship statistics.Regional Northman Differences
GUNDS
The folk of Gundarlun are excellent merchants and fishermen, more reverent to the gods than the average Northmen. They favor the sword over the ax and even poorer folk dress in garb made of colorful southern cloth. Gunds are found as adventurers or mercenaries along the Sword Coast. They have only a 50% chance to gain the benefits of the barbarian character class and are rarely berserkers. The figureheads on their long ships often depict fish (perhaps marlins or swordfish) and predatory birds (such as ernes and ospreys).TUERNISH
The isolated folk of Tuern worship no gods (and argue that none exist) and tolerate no magic-users in their midst, but give tribute to the red dragons of the mountains. They try to enslave all non-Northmen and, when visiting other lands, deface temples of the gods. They sail long ships big enough to house giants (which they often do), with figureheads that depict fierce warriors. Most have crews of over 100 warriors.RUATHYN AND LUSKANITES
Though they are separated by 1,800 miles of open ocean, the Ruathyn (the people of Ruathym) and the Luskanites are closely related. They dress in furs, wear horned helmets, constantly raid settlements along the coast and on the Moonshaes, attack ships on the high seas, and hate Waterdhavians, elves, halflings, southerners, and each other. They trust only their weapons. The figureheads on their ships favor red and white dragons, as do their sails.ROCKLANDERS
The people of the Purple Rocks were once a Gundarlun colony. There are no aged here and no children. The skins of all the people are unusually scarred and weathered. For Northmen, the Rocklanders are unusu¬ally warm and friendly, though their smiles may seem fake. They appear to worship the usual Northman deities, but their graven images of those gods all show many, tentacle-like arms. Their long ships favor squid-like figure heads.Если вы хотите что то добавить или присоединится к команде редакторов - пишите комментарии
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