the time of BeowuIf and - DriveThruRPG.com · feuds resume with greater ferocity, and more warriors die through treachery than glorious warfare. For a climactic finale, use The Adventure

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Explore the lands of Scandinavia in the time of BeowuIf and I<ing Arthur, While Arthur sat upon the throne of Britain, Beowulf drank mead in tt- h a ~ c of Hrothgar and bat the monster Grendel for the glory and honor of his king.

Land of Giants is a supplement for the Pendragon role p I ay i n g g a me s y s tern, describing Scandinavian kingdoms as they existed in the time of King Arthur.This boo1 features notes on generating Northman characters, a survey of Northrnan customs and religion, a map and guide to the region and new adventures.

Gamemasters can use the Scandinavian kingdoms as a place of adventure for their Arthurian player knights, or play the Thanes and Jarls in a purely Northman campaign outside the influence of Arthur’s rule.

WHAT IS PENDRAGON? Pendragon is a roleplaying game wherein you and your friends participate i player, the gamemaster, presents the story. Everyone else creates knight-c the tale. Each player verbally responds to the gamemaster’s plot and the actio describes how his or her c ter reacts. You can face the same dangers that ncountered, but this time

or a FREE CATALOG 1 Chaosium books and 3mes, write to:

Chaosium Inc 950 56th St. Oakland, CA 9460P

- P r PENDRAGON is Chaosium Inc.’s

fantasy roleplaying game based on the

legends of King Arthur.

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Lana OF Ofants Scandinavia and the Beowulfsaga in the time of King Arthur

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Wise King Hrothgar holds court

“ m e have indeed heard tell of the stden- dour of warrior Danes in days gonk by/ of the kings of that nation, and of how those high-

born men achieved deeds of valour.”

- BeowuIf -

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bY

Chris Hind

with additional research by

Robert Andersson Christer Edling

cover artwork: Stephen King interior artwork: Elise Fowler, Jared Osterhold

borders & incidentals: Elise Fowler maps: Chris Hind, Judy Routt

project: Sam Shirley, Liam Routt editing: Roderick Robertson

layout, additional editing: Liam Routt cover design: Sam Shirley

copyreading: John Deague, Ellen Robertson

chaoslum I'nc. 1996

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Introduction.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Pronounciation Guide ............................................. 6 Glossary ................................................................... 7

Sea-borne Encounters ........................................... 11

Magician Character Generation . ......... ................. 50 Cultural Descriptions ....... .. . .. . ... . . . .. ...... . ... .. . ... .. . .... 54

The Map of Thule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61 The North Sea ' ' * ' * * * * ' * ' * * ' Lords ofthe North.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1

Nor thern Monsters ..................... ......... ................. 76 The History of Thule . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

The Wild Northern Land. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Geography ............................................................. 20 Climate ................................................................... 24 Politics .................................................................... 24

The People of Thule. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 1 Society .................................................................... 31 Worship ................................................................. 36 Nor thern Character Creation ............................... 42

The Adventure of Hrothgar's Hall. . . . . . . . . . . . 7 9

The Adventure of the Barrow-dragon . . . . . . . . . 9 4

Sources ................................. 116

Handouts ............................... 117 General Knowledge ............................................ 117 Rune Lore ........................................................... 122 Hrothgar's H a l l ................................................... 124 Barrow-dragon .................................................... 125

Special Thanks: for the tireless efforts, research a n d commentary ofJohn Deague, wi thou t w h o m the complet ion of t h i s book w o u l d have been

considerably m o r e dif f icult ; andJudy Routt, for the long nights she gave up to re-scan a n d ent i re ly relabel a l l of the maps a n d handouts.

LAND OF GIANTS is published by Chaosium Inc., LAND OF GIANTS i s copyright 0 1996 by Chaosium Inc.; all rights reserved. Similarities between characters in LAND OF GIANTS and persons living or dead are strictly coincidental. The cover painting i s copyright 0 1996 by Stephen King Except in this publication and related advertising, or unless otherwise agreed to, art work original to LAND OF GIANTS remains the property of the artist, and i s copyright by them under their separate copyrights. The reproduction of material from this book for the purposes of personal or corporate profit, by photographic, elec- tronic, or other methods of storage and retrieval, i s prohibited. Address questions concerning this book as well as requests for free catalogs of Chaosium products t a Chaosium Inc, 950-A 56th Street, Oakland, CA 94608-31 29. You can reach Chaosium by e-mail at [email protected]. Our online catalog, as well as other Chaosium-related files, can be located at FTP://ftp.csua.berkeley.edu/pub/chaosium, or at HTTP://www.sirius.com/-chaosiumf. To subscribe to the weekly Chaosium Internet Digest, send e-mail to [email protected]. Chaosium can also be reached on America Online, at screen name "Chaosium". Published November, 1996. Chaosium Publication 271 8. ISBN 1-56882-055-0 For Hrothgar and Glory Printed in the USA

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INTRODUCTION What this book contains, and how to use it

N HIS HISTORIA FRANCORUM, Bishop Gregory of Tours records that the Geatish king Hygelac raided Frisia sometime between the years 5 16 and 534. The

Old English epic Beowulf also mentions that raid, plac- ing it in a larger context of Scandinavian heroism. Since the events of Beowulf unfold within the same time- frame as the Pendragon roleplaying game; since the tale was told by the same Anglo-Saxons who fought King Arthur; and especially since both traditions have heroic exploit in common -Land of Giants uses Beowulf as the basis for a source-book of Scandinavia.

Along with a copy of the 4th edition Pendragon role- playing game, this book contains everything you need to set adventures in the lands known collectively to clas- sical authors as Scandia or Thule.

Using this Book Pendragon players can use Land of Giants in one of two ways. First, the description of Thule provides another setting for knightly exploit. The Perilous North Sea chapter describes ways that characters from a British Pendragon campaign can travel to Thule for a sampling of different adventure.

Alternatively, a gamemaster could run a complete Northern campaign from the material provided. A set of rules are provided for creating Northman, Cimbri or Skridfinnar characters for this very reason. Hopefully the essays and guidelines in the book will inspire you to create your own adventures within the framework of Beowulf:

The Map of Thule chapter describes over 100 nota- ble locations, many of which include encounters with monsters. Using the statistics from the Lords of the North chapter, a gamemaster could flesh these out into short adventures. As well as place, gamemasters can use time as a story-telling device. The The History of Thule sec- tion outlines the most important events which

shaped Thule, including a suggested time-line for the events in Beowulf. Players can fight in the Geat- Svear wars, or join Beowulf and Hygelac on that fateful raid into Frisia.

Finally, there are two full-length adventures: The Adventure of Hrothgar's Hall, and The Adventure of the Barrow-dragon.

The handouts at the end of the book are designed to involve players with the setting while easing the game- master's work-load. First, the appropriately vague For- eigners' Common Knowledge outlines what is known about Thule in other lands (some of which is false). It is

WHAT IS BEOWULF?

EOWULF IS THE LONGEST Old English poem to survive B from Anglo-Saxon England. The only extant manu- script dates from around A.D. 1000. Although the origi- nal text was written between A.D. 650 and 850, the core tale is considerably older. Set in Migration Age (A.D. 400-600) Scandinavia, the epic inherits a hoard of Ger- manic legend, oral tradition, and vague historical refer- ence. Most likely it began as an oral account, later edited by an Anglian noble or churchman. A heroic tale reinforced by Christian morals, Beowulf bridges Britain's barbaric ancestry with its literate Anglo-Saxon future.

The epic is simple. In his youth a Geatish hero named Beowulf travels to the court of King Hrothgar of Den- mark. There he defeats a demon-troll called Grendel, and then Crendel's Dam. Beowulf receives great re- wards from Hrothgar and - once h e has returned home - from his lord, eventually becoming king of the Geats. The last third of the poem describes Beowulf's old age, when he goes forth to defend his people from a rampag- ing dragon. Beowulf kills the wyrm, but dies from his wounds. The epic ends with omens of disaster for the Geatish people.

Woven into this story of heroism are references to semi-historic rulers and realms, Germanic custom and legend, and early feudal practices.

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accompanied by the Foreigners’ Map of Thule. Native characters receive the more detailed information found in Thule for Northerners and the Northerners’ Map of Thule. Two other handouts provide Rune-to-English conversion charts used to represent a character’s under- standing of the Runic writing system.

Running a Campaign This book provides enough material for at least three campaigns, tentatively dated at A.D. 48 1-500, 50 1-52 1, and 521 onwards. (Though the The History of Thule chapter sets A.D. 521 as the “now” ofLand of Giants, do not despair. While all descriptions assume this date, the few discrepancies lie mostly in the names of current rulers.)

The first generation might begin adventuring in A.D. 48 1. Player characters could explore the surroundings (see The Map of Thule), witness the birth of Beowulf, and sire heroes for a Golden Age campaign (see below). This period’s most significant events include the efforts of the Kings of Denmark to strengthen the kingdom, thus warring against Angles and Jutes will provide most of the glory. A grand climax can be had with Froda‘s Jutland campaign. Players may take the part of King Halfdane’s exiled thanes, fighting to retake Denmark from the usurper, King Froda.

A Golden Age starts in A.D. 501. During this time, the Eruli return to Scandinavia, Grendel arrives at Heorot, and great battles rage between the Geats and Svear. Build towards a fight with Grendel in The Adventure of Hrothgar’s Hall. A.D. 52 1 marks the date of a significant event: the Geats’ fateful raid against Frisia and the death of Hygelac, king of the Geats. Player characters may witness this event firsthand. They may very well die. And what better way to end a campaign than with heroic deaths?

A final campaign occurs during an age of decline (circa A.D. 521 +). M e r the burning of Heorot and the death of Hrothgar, the heroic ethos disintegrates. Old feuds resume with greater ferocity, and more warriors die through treachery than glorious warfare. For a climactic finale, use The Adventure of the Barrow- dragon any time between A.D. 535 and 577.

Support Material Land of Giants is not a stand-alone product. Based on the Pendragon rules, and set in the Arthurian world,

this book belongs to a line of roleplaying products which have strong links. In fact, most of the published adventures originally designed for knights are suitable for the Northern setting. The gamemaster need change only the details, such as: Cultures: Northmen are related to Saxons, Cimbri to

Cymri, and Skridfinnar are at least superficially sim- ilar to Picts. In story-telling terms, Cimbrians fill the same role in Thule as Saxons do in Britain: heathen barbarian foes. Simply change the names of people and places. .

Society: The Northman social structure is similar to Arthurian feudalism, with thanes replacing knights. Most events which take place at a tournament could just as easily occur at a thing.

Religion: Churches and monasteries may become tem- ples, depending upon their context in the adventure (Northerners have no books). Wotanic priests fill the roles of Christian monks and clergy. Shamans hoard information like hermits. Heathens are heathens, the world over.

Equipment: Down-grade armor and weapons. Change castles to ring-forts, manors to great-halls. A modi- fied price-list is provided in the The People of Thule chapter.

Where is Beowulf? Though this source-book based is on the epic Beowulf, the hero of the same name does not play a prominent part in these adventures. Why? Quite simply, roleplay- ing games should provide players with the opportunity to relive heroic moments through the personae of their characters. In the saga, Beowulf tends to hog the glory. His minor exploits are replete with struggles against giants, sea monsters, and foreign foes. Therefore, his two greatest adventures - The Adventure of Hrothgar‘s Hall and The Adventure of the Barrow-dragon - are reserved for the player characters instead.

Beowulf remains in the background as the warrior ideal, worthy of emulation. Gamemasters may also use him as a d e w ex machina when characters get into super- heroic trouble. And if they cannot complete the two adventures after repeated attempts, Beowulf will do so by the dates set down in the The History of Thule chapter.

The place and character names in Thule use a number of sounds that may be initally unfamilar to the En- glish speaker. Most of the letters a - alms, bar

expect, but the following list gives a guide to the pronounciation of the

a- law i - father

should be pronounced as you would a - call e - gjn

others, particularly the vowels. C - dzy

i - is y - tg (french) o -_omit c - bank (never soft) 6 - _ore k - (as c, above) 0 - n o t g - give (never soft) u - s o o t j -year i i -boot r - (always trilled)

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