Nordheimir Religion

The Primal Frost-Giant King

The Æsir worship Ymir the Frost Giant King. Dread Ymir rules icy Valhalla, where the dead dwell in a realm of long halls, snowy glaciers, and eternal drinking, wenching and fighting. Ymir represents the Earth to the Nordheimir, and both the Vanir and the Æsir spring from Ymir. Battle for the Nordheimir is not only the basis of their economy and social life, it is also the basis of their religious life, for Ymir is worshipped by doing battle all day, then eating, drinking and singing all night. Indeed, even those activities have religious merit, for ale is the drink of bold Ymir and as such is sacred and consumed in large quantities. It is said among the Nordheimir that it is possible to come into direct contact with Ymir if one drinks one’s self unconscious. Thus, inebriation is a religious obligation as well as a social activity.

Life is meant to be embraced with savage enthusiasm and death is to be met in the same manner. The Nordheimir believe in an afterlife, and the afterlife often mirrors how one lived life and met one’s doom. For the common folk, the afterlife is dull and dreary, a life spent gathering and serving the warriors. For valiant warriors, however, the afterlife is filled with fighting and feasting in the snowy plains and halls of Valhalla.

Ymir and the Nordheimir Pantheon

Ymir is the primal frost-giant king and god of both the Aesir and Vanir. To the Nordheimir, he represents the Earth itself, which they perceive as formed entirely of ice and snow. He is worshipped not in elaborate rituals but by doing battle all day, then drinking and singing all night.

Ymir appears predominantly in the creation myth of the Nordheimir, who have little enough need for the gods save as sources for their tall tales and wild songs. He is said to have been the first living being, created from thawed ice just before the second creature, the primal cow Audhumla. His only nourishment came from milking Audhumla. Ymir’s body produced the first humans, a man and a woman congealed from the sweat of his left armpit. From these sprang the races of Vanir and Aesir.

Atali: Ymir’s daughter Atali is an enchantress who lures wounded men to their deaths in the ice. She has a number of brothers who resemble huge, rime-bearded

Nordheimir warriors and who ambush her victims with their great axes, if the poor mortals have not already died of exposure. She brought seid to the women of

Nordheim (see the section on Nordheimir Völvas on page 62).

Requirements of Worship: Pay a tithe worth 1 sp/ level/month to the local temple, increasing to 8 sp/ month during the raiding season (typically two months during autumn, after the harvest is in). Benefits of Worship: Atonement, Faith. Requirements for Ordained Priesthood: Must have at least three levels in the barbarian class. Priests of Ymir are expected to be warriors first and foremost; many a raider has retired to become a priest after years of battle and slaying. Benefits of Ordained Priesthood: Standard, plus as follows: sorcery teaching is available (Curses, Divinations and Nature Magic only).

Typical Punishments for Disloyal Priests: Banishment from the tribe.

Nordheimer Godi and Godar

Nordheimer shamans, known as godi in Vanaheim and godar in Asgard, tend to be more political than religious, taking a chieftain-like role as well as ensuring the proper ceremonies are conducted for any given event. Religion tends to be a personal event among the Nordheimer, but even they have their oracles, much as the Cimmerians do. A Nordheimer can only take the scholar class by virtue of his bloodline, his wealth and his Reputation. If he is found lacking in any of these three areas, then he will not be chosen for this role. The character must be descended from a king or a godi/ godar, he must be wealthy as Nordheimer measure wealth and his Reputation must exceed 10 before he can multiclass into scholar. Often, multiclassing into scholar is an act of retirement for heroes and legends. Worship is conducted outdoors in places such as beneath guardian trees, near sacred wells or within sacred arrangements of stones. The Nordheimer shaman focuses on divination sorcery styles almost exclusively, although a few branch out into cosmic sorcery, nature magic and/or hypnotism. Mostly, they take the bonus feats and bonus skill points in lieu of new styles and further advanced spells once they have learned the divination style.

Among the Æsir, who are each fiercely independent, religion is viewed as a personal matter. They have no time or interest in having priests interpret Ymir for them. Each man is his own intermediary to Ymir. The Æsir keep no temples to Ymir, but they acknowledge many sacred outdoor sites, such as mountains, islands, fields, rocks and groves. Three times per year the Æsir hold ceremonies to placate Ymir, asking for victory in war and raiding, making sacrifices of animals and humans, feasting on steaming food hot from the fires, drinking their ale in fantastic quantities and singing lustful songs celebrating their wars and heroes. These ceremonies, occurring in the spring, mid-summer and autumn, last for days and are loud, brutal affairs for such is their life.

Nordheimir Völvas

A völva is a Nordheimir sorceress who practises seid, the Nordheimir version of Shamanism. Seid is considered unmanly in Nordheimir tradition, so almost all völvas are female. A few men, however, especially after a near-death experience, do take up the path. Seid is considered unmanly because it is a manipulative practice, which runs counter to the Nordheimir code of forthright behaviour for men. Old women völvas are seen as representatives of the spirits of death. The primary forms of magic practised by völvas are Divination, Hypnotism, Nature Magic and Curses. Really old and powerful völvas practise Necromancy.

Völvas wear black cloaks and hoods of black wool trimmed with white cat fur. Some are nude beneath; others wear standard clothing for Nordheimir women. A few carry swords. They carry symbolic staffs of power (called seidstaffs), which aid in their magic. The seidstaff allows a völva to cast spells which would normally require her to touch the object the spell is being cast upon without actually touching that object; instead, she only has to touch the object with one end of the seidstaff whilst holding the staff’s other end. In addition, the masterwork nature of the seidstaff gives a +1 bonus to the sorcerer’s attack roll. A typical seidstaff has Defence 7, five hit points, hardness 5, a break DC of 16 and costs 500 silver pieces (in relative value, not necessarily in coin).

When learning the Divination sorcery style, the völva learns shamanistic ecstasy (see page 13), not astrological divination. The völva is said to become discorporeal and take the likeness of an animal as she travels through the realms of reality. She achieves the trance through a variety of means, depending on who trained her. Lotus, sleep deprivation, sensory deprivation and chanting are all methods used by various völva.

Level Nordheimir Völva

1 Shamanic Ecstasy 2 Entrance 3 Psychometry (Torment (from Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos) if bonus spell is available) 4 Hypnotic Suggestion, Lesser Ill-Fortune 5 Visions 6 Domination 7 Dream of Wisdom (Ill-fortune if bonus spell is available) 8 Savage Beast, Summon Animal 9 Greater Ill-Fortune 10 Ranged Hypnotism 11 Enslave (from Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos) (Visions of Torment and Delight if bonus spell is available) 12 Sorcerous News, Warding (Note: character gains

Curse of Yizil as a free spell at this point) 13 Greater Warding 14 Dance of Atali (from Conan: The Scrolls of Skelos) 15 Draw Forth the Soul (Free choice if bonus spell is available) 16 Death Touch, Raise Dead