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THE VIKING CURSE
"I WILL DIE FOR THE HONOR OF MY POINTY HAT!" Once upon a time there was a good and loyal Viking named Olaf, the son of Thor and Loki (don't ask, it's bad, just trust us). He spent his days as many Vikings did: feasting, fighting, and fucking, not always necessarily in that order. Eventually he came to the attention of a God from a foreign land called the Jester who stole Olaf and took him to his own realm to play tricks upon him. Olaf spent many years fighting to find his way back home with little if any success, and as he lay on his deathbed pronounced a massive curse using his pent up semi-divine rage: That his people would take over this realm and replace all others.
From that point onward anyone who touched Olaf's body saw a change come upon them. They wore animal skins, and cursed, and fought naked in the streets. They carried off women, and drank, and got into arguments with Gods and Giants. They behaved in short like really bad comic stereotypes of Vikings. Worse yet they began to call themselves Vikings, and Olaf their father. Others they got into fights with soon followed them into the Viking life and it was quickly learned how easily Olaf's curse could spread turning others into barbarians. The new Vikings were quickly shipped off to find a land of their own, which they eventually found and unimaginatively named The North.
VIKING CHARACTERS If you like playing loud angry people who fight at the least amount of provocation without regard to their future, this race is for you. The Vikings exemplify the "run blindly into my own eternal damnation just for fun" archetype espoused by so many berserkers in the fantasy genre. If on the other hand you want to play some sort of coward like an archer or a spellcaster, well this race probably isn't for you. It's a rare caster willing to die for the honor of his pointy hat.
Adventuring Race: Most Vikings go on adventures for the traditional reasons: fame, glory, and MONEY! Occasionally for revenge, but most often because it might be fun and allow them to indulge their more primitive urges. Like pig strangling. Vikings are big on pig strangling. They also get to sample new and ever more exotic forms of beer, hit strangers with hammers, and raid for supplies (which inadvertently spreads their Curse).
Character Development: With your racial abilities you are perfect for up close melee fighting. The Dex penalty kind of messes you up a little for ranged combat unless you're willing to invest in a few feats, and the only kind of caster you can usually be fairly good at is Cha based which limits your options there as well.
Character Names:
Male: Arngrim, Asgeir, Bard, Bjorn, Einar, Finn Frodi, Gorn, Grim, Haefnir, Holmstein, Ingvar, Jorund, Knut, Olaf, Skuld, Stein, Thorvald, Ulf, Yngvar.
Female: Astrid, Dotta, Grima, Gunnhild, Helga, Hild, Inga, Ingrid, Mathilda, Sigrid, Thora.
ROLEPLAYING A VIKING You do everything with enthusiasm, and give it your all. When you're depressed the world is ending and you'd kill yourself if only there was any point to it. When your angry you vow to make the entire world burn. When you're in love you'll go to any lengths to get them to reciprocate. In short you're slightly emotionally unstable. While this may attract like minded individuals, the rest of the world sees you as the roving patch of Chaos you are and does their best to avoid you.
Personality: You don't like change, or things you don't understand, or cowards, or rude people. You REALLY don't like people insulting your hat. On the plus side you are generally friendly, and loyal unto death. You love a good fight or competition of any kind and will always participate regardless of your actual skill level or ability, mostly because it's guaranteed that someone will lose their temper badly enough to start a fight at some time.
Behaviors: You always question authority unless you know or trust that person. You always accept an invitation to a fight (or really any form of competition really). Generally you always speak your mind regardless of what trouble it may cause you, and give little thought to the future.
Language: All Vikings speak Old Norse regardless of what their former language was, though they retain their memories of the tongue they used to speak as well. They just don't use it unless speaking to beings who don't understand Old Norse and whom they haven't decided to speak to with fists and axes.
VIKING SOCIETY Society is based around friendly competition, most of which is some sort of fighting. When a woman comes available for marriage you all fight for her favor if you aren't already married. Then you fight with her when you kidnap her for the wedding. Then you fight for the right to sleep with her (Viking women insist on it, it's the only way they believe they get husbands of sufficient strength to father strong children). Then you fight with her over the other household decisions, while fighting animals to put food on the table and fighting in raids to earn money.
Then you fight with the children to get them to obey you, and occasionally fight with the Gods to get them to see things your way (of course this is mostly arguing as opposed to physical, even you aren't that stupid). Some days you fight with less physical things like the weather for a change of pace. Non-vikings don't understand it when they find you cussing at the clouds, but then they don't much understand you period.
Beyond this your civilization is fairly similar to the standard Viking one.
Alignment: You are compulsorily Chaotic, always squabbling and getting into trouble. Racially you pretty much have an equal likelihood of being Good, Evil, or Neutral depending on the makeup of the local population infected by the Curse.
Lands: Most Vikings live in a segment of the Jesters Realm known as The North. It is a place of harsh winters, and big sized problems like dragons and giants (who convert to the cause fairly often). Really it's pretty much overrun by Vikings and a few other odds and ends they can't convert.
Settlements: Vikings rarely settle as they prefer to be among their own kind, and even they dimly understand that forcibly converting others is not always necessarily a good thing.
Beliefs: Much like other Vikings you regard worship as a two way street. You worship Gods for what they can give you. The God of Rain wants your prayers, and sometimes you want rain. So it works out okay for the both of you. But if the rain isn't forthcoming once you've prayed, then he won't be getting anymore till you do. You'll find some other God who follows through. All of you worship Olaf though, even though he can't provide anything, as he is the father of your race.
Relations: Vikings tend to regard other races with suspicion. Considering the other races have traditionally attempted to mass murder them to prevent the Curse from spreading their suspicion is pretty well founded. They also aren't fond of traditional Viking enemies such as Trolls, Giants, and Dragons, though exceptions have been made.
VIKING ADVENTURES · An outsider has passed through town, and posthumously you have learned he said your hat makes you look like "some kind of moron." He must die for this.
· A dragon has kidnapped your wife. Granted she was a fat, cheating, lying bitch but she was still "yours." He must die for this.
· A magical talking pig wanders into your mead hall and calls you fat. Of course you end up killing him. At which point his ghost begins haunting the hall. He must die for this. Again.
THE VIKING CURSEViking can be an Inherited or Acquired Template that can be applied to any Animal, Dragon, Fey, Giant or Humanoid.
Size and Type: Size remains unchanged. Type becomes Viking regardless of former Type. Do not recalculate Saving Throws, Skills, or anything else based on this Type Change.
Hit Dice: Unchanged, but hit points will need to be recalculated due to change in Constitution.
Speed: Unchanged.
Armor Class: Your Natural Armor Bonus to Armor Class improves by an amount dependent on your Size Class: Tiny or Smaller +0, Small +1, Medium +2, Large +3, Huge +4, Gargantuan +7, Colossal +11.
Attacks: Base Attack Bonus you gain from Racial Hit Dice are recalculated. BAB now equals your Hit Dice for Racial HD only.
Damage: Unchanged
Special Attacks: Retains all Special Attacks of the Base Creature plus gains the following:
The Viking Curse: The Viking Curse in many ways resembles a sort of psychic Virus. Any Animal, Dragon, Fey, Giant or Humanoid is susceptible to it in certain circumstances, and must make a Willpower Saving Throw or acquire the Viking Template over a period of 1d4 days. They gain the Viking Type immediately on failing the Save, and other Vikings will stop trying to kill them in order to let them 'mature' and join society. At least as long as they behave anyway. The Actual Save DC varies. Living among Vikings a week or being spat on by one is a mere DC 12. Being subject to the Inspire Viking Frenzy ability, or being Intimidated by one, or failing a Save vs some sort of Fear Ability if they have one is (10 plus half the Vikings Hit Dice plus his Constitution Modifier). Fighting a Viking, coming into contact with their blood, or intimate relations requires a DC (1o plus the Vikings Hit Dice plus his Constitution Modifier) Save. Touching Olaf's corpse requires no Save, you become a Viking immediately.
I WILL DIE FOR THE HONOR OF MY POINTY HAT!: In any round in which a Viking is insulted (or has an ability similar to the Goad Feat or similar type spells used on him) he gains a Bonus on Attack, Damage , and Initiative rolls made that round equal to his Constitution Modifier, with an additional +1 if the insult involves his headgear...
Special Qualities: Retains all Special Qualities of the Base Creature plus gains the following:
Sense Viking (Ex): Beings with the Viking Type sense one another regardless of what they look like. You may be a bunny, or a dragon, or even an elf but as long as you have the Viking Type you're indistinguishable from any other brother Norseman. Vikings will always tend to side with each other over any other opponent regardless of origin, and will usually only fight to the death if forced or they have a serious grudge. This ability even sees through Illusions in a manner similar to True Seeing, but only to determine your Vikingism.
Transitioning: Transitioning after the Curse is a hard task, especially for those not really suited towards being barbaric raiders. Once you gain a level in either of the Viking Favored Classes (Barbarian or Frenzied Berserkers) you may swap out any levels in other classes you no longer want or need to levels of the new class. For example if you were a 5th Level Wizard, once you get a level in Barbarian you can switch out all five of those Wizard Levels for Barbarian, and you remake your PC as a 6th Level Barbarian.
Cold Resistance: You gain Cold Resistance 5.
Saves: Saves will need to be recalculated due to changes in Abilities, plus you also get a +1 Racial Bonus to Fortitude Saves.
Abilities: +4 Str, +4 Con, +2 Cha, -2 Dex, -2 Int, -2 Wis
Skills: Vikings get a +4 Racial Bonus to Intimidate, Knowledge (Nature), and Survival Checks. They become proficient with Simple and Martial Weapons and Light and Medium Armor. They also become proficient with all Shields except Tower Shields. You also now Speak/Read/Write Old Norse.
Feats: You gain Improved Unarmed Strike and Improved Grapple. If you already have these Feats or have Abilities that render having them superfluous (natural weapons, Improved Grab, etc) you gain 2 Bonus Fighter Feats instead.
Environment: Mostly unchanged but now includes any Cold.
Organization: Vikings now live in towns composed of other Vikings.
Challenge Rating: +2
Treasure: Unchanged
Alignment: Good Alignments become Chaotic Good. Evil Alignments become Chaotic Evil. Neutral Alignments become Chaotic Neutral.
Advancement: By Character Class. Favored Class changes to Barbarian or Frenzied Berserker.
Level Adjustment: +4
Example of creature using template here:
VIKING RACIAL SUBSTITUTION LEVELSBARBARIAN Level 1: Replace Rage with Viking Rage
Level 11: Replace Greater Rage with Greater Viking Rage
Level 20: Replace Mighty Rage with Mighty Viking Rage
Levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18: Replace Trap Sense with Viking Stoicism
Viking Rage: This is identical to normal Rage in every way except for the Bonuses. You gain DR 4/-, which stacks with other DR you get elsewhere (including from this class) and a +2 Morale Bonus on Will Saves.
Greater Viking Rage: This is identical to normal Rage in every way except for the Bonuses. You gain DR 8/-, which stacks with other DR you get elsewhere (including from this class) and a +3 Morale Bonus on Will Saves.
Mighty Viking Rage: This is identical to normal Rage in every way except for the Bonuses. You gain DR 12/-, which stacks with other DR you get elsewhere (including from this class) and a +4 Morale Bonus on Will Saves.
Viking Stoicism: At Levels 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18 you gain a cumulative +1 Bonus on Willpower Saves against Fear Effects or any spell/ability that causes a Morale Penalty.
FRENZIED BERSERKER Level 1: Replace Frenzy with Viking Frenzy
Level 1: Prerequisites for taking this PrC are removed, Viking PC's/NPC's may take this as a Core Class instead of a PrC.
Level 6: Replace Inspire Frenzy with Inspire Viking Frenzy
Level 8: Replace Greater Frenzy with Greater Viking Frenzy
Viking Frenzy: This is identical to Frenzy, with the exception that anything with the Viking Type is considered an Ally. Even in Frenzy you will not target other Vikings for attack unless you know them to be an enemy.
Inspire Viking Frenzy: This is identical to Inspire Frenzy, with the exception that anything with the Viking Type is considered an Ally. Even in Frenzy your Allies will not target other Vikings for attack unless they know them to be an enemy. They also temporarily have their Type changed to Viking and may risk the Viking Curse (see above).
Greater Viking Frenzy: This is identical to Greater Frenzy, with the exception that anything with the Viking Type is considered an Ally. Even in Frenzy you will not target other Vikings for attack unless you know them to be an enemy.
