[Ahmed rides back into the pallisade after taking a risk to rescue a child who fell behind the evacuation from the imminent attack by a proported fire-breathing dragon.]Herger:So you saw the fire worm?Ahmed:It’s cavalry.Herger:I rather prefer a dragon.Ahmed:Hundreds, with torches.— “The 13th Warrior” (1999)
Herger:The All-Father wove the skein of your life a long time ago. Go and hide in a hole if you wish, but you won’t live one instant longer.Your fate is fixed. Fear profits a man nothing.— “The 13th Warrior” (1999)
Although Vikings did not shy from diplomacy, force was inevitable. Everything conditioned them toward achieving material goals, from religion to fame. Odin, their god of war, combined fierceness and heroism on the battlefield with cunning and treachery, and so it is no surprise that stratagems were a key part of Viking warfare. All hope for future renown was conditioned on what one did while alive; good deeds, unlike in Christian beliefs, were not a prerogative for salvation. The Viking lived in a world where chaos was the reverse side of order and where order could be imposed only by physical confrontation.
— Barbarians, Marauders, and Infidels, p. 143
Excerpts from books, films, television, and other websites to inspire your role-playing. Also original fiction, game design ideas, and commentary.
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