Getting Started

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Baldur



Son of Odin and Frigg, Baldur was a god of kindness and light who was beloved by all creatures, especially men. Baldur was tormented by visions of his own death, and his mother, fraught with worry, traveled the nine worlds and gained the promise of everything she found to never harm her son. Loki, who was jealous of Baldur, learned that Frigg had overlooked a spring of mistletoe in her haste. When Baldur was displaying his invincibility to the gods in Asgard he tricked the blind god Hodr into throwing it at his brother, slaying Baldur instantly. Baldur’s body was placed on a ship with a grand treasure, then cast out to sea.

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Fenrir



The demon wolf, son of Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda. Fenrir’s hunger and ferocity was so great that even the gods became afraid, and sought to bind him for all eternity. No rope or chain that existed in the nine worlds was able to hold the wolf’s jaws shut, until the dwarves forged a ribbon called Gleipnir. Among the gods, only Tyr, who fed Fenrir during captivity, was brave enough to bind Gleipnir around the wolf, and in the ensuing struggle he lost his right hand. It is said that on the eve of Ragnarok, Fenrir will break free of his bondage and devour the sun itself, plunging the whole world into darkness.

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Freyr & Freyja

These twins, brother and sister, are gods of fertility. The last of the Vanir, Freyr and Freya’s striking similarity to the alfs has been the source of much speculation into the relationship between their extinct family line and the denizens of Alfheim. Frey presides over sunlight, crops, and peace, while Freya holds mastery over love, lust, and reproduction. Both deities are harmonious and carefree by nature, rarely given to the schemes of Asgard, but their beauty often arouses attraction and jealousy from the other gods. Freya claims a third of the heroic dead for her own, and brings them to live in peace in her grand hall, Sessrumnir, in Alfheim.

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Heimdall



The eternal guardian of Bifrost, the rainbow bridge that connects Midgard and Asgard. Heimdall is a stern sentry, often appearing as a warrior in full armor and wielding a massive sword or lance. It is said that Heimdall can see a hundred miles in any direction by night or day, and can hear the grass grow.

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Hel



The queen of the underworld, daughter of Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda. Hel is the “half-dead queen”, a terrifying creature with the face and upper body of a living woman, and thighs and legs of decomposed flesh. In her domain, which bears her name, Hel rules over those who die ingloriously – through sickness or old age - as well as a third of the heroic dead.

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Jormungandr



The Midgard Serpent, son of Loki and the frost giantess Angrboda, and the progenitor of all serpentine creatures from the lowly earthworm to the mighty dragons. Jormungandr is a massive sea serpent who was cast down to Midgard by Odin, where he grew to an immense size and has since been a scourge to sailors and seaside communities for centuries. Various clans and kingdoms of the Northmen have led expeditions to slay the Midgard Serpent, and all have ended in disaster.

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Loki

A shapechanger and mischief-maker, the god of chaos and trickery often put the gods in danger with his pranks, until the Aesir chained him and sealed him in a cave deep under the earth. Loki is the father of Hel, Fenrir, and Jormungand, as well as Vali and Narvi. Loki brought about the death of Balder, though the gods’ patience with him did not run out until he became insulting at a feast in Asgard. Odin captured Loki and turned Vali into a wolf, who promptly killed Narvi. Then, Narvi’s intestines were used to bind Loki in a cave under a venom-dripping serpent. The ancient sagas hold that Loki will one day escape his imprisonment, heralding the end of days – Ragnarok.

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Nidhogg



Deep in the cold underworld realm of Niflheim lives this terrifying draconic creature. The Nidhogg lives on the corpse shore, where the dead destined for Niflheim wash up only to be torn to shreds and devoured by the massive serpent. On occasion, the Nidhogg bores of its diet of corpses and instead gnaws upon the roots of the Yggdrasil, presumably to cause some kind of damage to the universe. No one knows how or when Nidhogg was created, but it is often speculated that he emerged from the Yawning Emptiness from which the primordial giant Ymir and the Yggdrasil sprang.

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Njord



The principal sea god of the Northmen, and adoptive father of Freyr and Freya. Njord is a favourite among humans for presiding over the construction of ships and blessing sea voyages with favourable fortune. While nearly all Northmen, who depend greatly upon the sea, offer prayers to Njord, his true servants are often rewarded with treasures, abundant land, and many strong children.

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Odin



The leader of the Aesir is a powerful god of magic and wisdom. Odin is one of the few to drink from the well of Urd and gain the knowledge of the universe at the cost of his eyes. To learn the power of magic, Odin lashed himself to the Yggdrasil for nine days. It is said that Odin made these sacrifices to preserve the knowledge of magic, which nearly died along with the family of sage-gods, the Vanir. One third of the heroic dead are claimed by Odin, who brings them to live in Valhalla, where they spend each day in battle and each night in feast. Seers and sorcerers, as well as warriors, pay tribute to Odin.

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Skadi



The goddess of hunting worshipped by the Northmen is a frost giantess named Skadi, who attained her place among the Aesir when she single-handedly infiltrated Asgard and forced Odin to pay compensation for killing her father. Skadi was fooled into marrying the sea god Njord, whom she could not live with. Despite the strained nature of her marriage, her association with the gods has remained strong since.

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Thor



Thor is the god of thunder, popular among farmers and common folk. This fiery-tempered son of Odin is viewed as the strongest of the Aesir, and a protector of heroes and working men alike. Thor is most known for his many epic battles against his most hated enemy, the giants, against whom he wielded a hammer that struck with a crack of thunder and a flash of lightning, called Mjollnir.

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Tyr



The god of courage and warfare is often the favourite of warriors among the Northmen. Tyr is most well-known for his part in the binding of Fenrir: only he was brave enough to wrestle the demon wolf, and lost his right hand in the struggle. All warriors, from the lowest conscripts to the greatest warlords and kings, invoke this god to bless their pursuits in war. It is Tyr alone who has the power to inspire his favoured warriors to a state of berserker rage.

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Valkyries



When brave men and women fall in battle, their spirits are borne away to the afterlife by celestial battle maidens called Valkyries. Also known as ‘choosers of the slain’, the Valkyries are Odin’s personal retainers who gather the Einherjar to and train them for Ragnarok, the Final Battle.