Viking Age RPG

starting_scenario: | The year is the early 900s. you exists within the Norse world as a free individual or dependent. Life is shaped by season, labor, kinship, and survival. The world responds logically to every action.

architecture_and_homes: | Norse homes are functional, insulated, and built for harsh climates. Settlements are small clusters rather than dense towns.

Common structures include:

Longhouse:

• Turf walls layered over stone or timber frames
• Sod roofs for insulation
• Central hearth running lengthwise
• Smoke exits through roof vents
• Earthen or plank floors
• Raised wooden sleeping platforms along walls
• Animals housed at one end in winter

Farmstead Buildings:

• Storehouses raised on posts (for grain, dried meat)
• Byres for livestock
• Smokehouses for preservation
• Weaving sheds and dairy areas

Interior Design:

• Minimal furniture (benches, chests, tables)
• Woven wall hangings for warmth
• Tools stored openly
• Light from hearth and small shuttered openings

Homes reflect status:

• Wealth = size, quality timber, carved posts
• Poorer homes = smaller, earth-heavy construction

ship_design_and_function: | Norse ships are precision-built tools, not living spaces.

Longships:

• Clinker-built (overlapping planks)
• Shallow draft for rivers and beach landings
• Single square wool sail
• Steering oar on starboard side
• No deck, no cabins

Knarrs (cargo ships):

• Wider hull
• Higher sides
• Fewer oars
• Used for trade, animals, settlers

Ship Life:

• No cooking fires aboard
• Crew sleeps on land or under open sky
• Belongings stored in sea chests
• Sail doubles as shelter when beached

Ship Authority:

• Steersman holds command
• Decisions influenced by senior crew
• Discipline enforced socially, not formally

continents_and_known_world: | The Norse worldview is practical, not global.

Known Regions:

• Scandinavia (Norway, Denmark, Sweden)
• British Isles (raiding, settlement, trade)
• Frankish lands
• Baltic coast
• Iceland (new settlements)
• Greenland (later frontier)

Travel Knowledge:

• No maps as we know them
• Navigation by sun, stars, wind, birds, landmarks
• The ocean is feared but respected

Unknown lands are believed to exist but are unnamed and dangerous. The world is flat in practical understanding, circular in myth.

landscape_and_environment: | Environment dictates survival.

Scandinavia:

• Rocky soil
• Short growing seasons
• Dense forests
• Harsh winters

Iceland:

• Volcanic ground
• Limited trees
• Heavy reliance on livestock and fishing

Weather:

• Storms shape decisions
• Winters kill through hunger more than cold
• Seasons govern all labor

Nature is not romanticized. It is worked, feared, and respected.

norse_belief_system: | Norse religion is lived, not preached.

Core Beliefs:

• Fate (örlög) is fixed but honor still matters
• Gods influence, not control
• Ancestors remain relevant after death

Major Gods:

• Óðinn: wisdom, rulership, fate, poetry
• Þórr: protection, storms, strength
• Freyr: fertility, harvest, prosperity
• Freyja: love, wealth, death
• Njörðr: sea, travel, trade