The OOC/IC thread
“In the name of Wodan, how does one fail such a simple task. How does one lose a longboat, how does one lose a warband? Questions like these would make even the smartest men like me twist their head in confusion.” The man with the beard was speaking to a small group of norsemen and women, a group no bigger than ten. Some of the other villagers were watching in silence, as this group was the last remaining bit of the warband of fifty vikingr the chief had sent out. It was still unsure what had happened to the others, as there are mixed accounts between the remaining part of the group. However one thing they all agreed on - it was a slaughter. Not only had they lost valuable lifes in this raiding trip, they also brought back nothing of value. To the chief, this was a great offense. Not only were they now short men and women for the harvest, they also had nothing to show for it. Such an offense must be punished.. but how. The chief leaned his elbow on the arm support of the seat he was sitting in, twisting his short pointy beard. After some time he rose on his feet and extended his arms to the group. “I don't know how one did all the things you did - lose a boat, get a warband killed, return with no spoils of battle. Yet you dare show your faces here. I cannot say what you did to anger the gods, as I am no god. Therefore I do not know what the gods would have seen your punishment be. And as such, I have to exile you from my village. The gods shall decide your fate. Truly, I hope Wodan stays by your side.”
Hello everyone, thank you for reading through that. If that short introduction was to your liking, then please keep reading. I had an idea for an RP with a setting I had not really seen before - and anything closely related to it was just not suitable enough for me. And if you feel the same way, or you are just looking for a nice RP about a group of people doing what they have to do, then I think you might be interested! If you think so too, please continue reading so I can explain the setting I had in mind.
The setting I had in mind for the Nordland Saga would be one where survival is at the center of the story, and no, don't worry. I do not intend for this to be solely a sandbox roleplay. Think of it as such: a group gets thrown into the wild with nothing more than the clothes they were wearing at that time. The first thing they would do is walk away, as this place is no longer their home! After some time they would decide, together or apart, that they needed a place to stay in. And then they realize, they don't need just a place to stay, they need food, water, warmth. And possibly, if your character is sensible enough, he'll realize he needs brotherhood, companionship or in some cases, bloodshed and the call of Valhal. This is what I had in mind when I say ''survival.''
Besides that, it's also a social experiment: what happens when you throw multiple people (okay.. multiple vikingr) together in a group and then see how they react to new situations and new things happening around them? Will someone take charge? Will they stay together? These are all questions that solely depend on the characters - one person might take charge, the others might want a say in what goes on as well. Some will believe companionship will keep them alive, others might think they are better off alone.
In short: this story or roleplay will be about people being banished or exiled from their village and forced out and building a new life. It will also be about norsemen and their corresponding traits.
What has happened so far, you might wonder? In short, your characters were sent out with the warband to raid a certain area. So, they got in a longboat and sailed! These men and women were however not battle hardened, and the amount of ''experienced raiders'' were countable on two hands. But, the case was the same in the villages they were raiding; most men were part of the militia, or poor farmers who grabbed a pitchfork to protect their homestead. What happened afterwards isn't sure, as all characters could have a different remembrance of the happening. Some could say it was Wodan and he smited and struck down the warband. Others could say it was a trap laid by the enemy, and they were ambushed. Others would simply not remember (''I was asleep, chief!''). Everything is possible, and I would find it interesting to see what people will think happened.
After the death of the majority of the warband, they would head home, without longboat, in a long trek across land. However the chief of their village wasn't all too happy - he lost valuable men and women, he got no new spoils of battle, and he had possibly angered Wodan by losing his warband. To avoid any further conflicts with his own villagers or the gods themselves, he exiled you and your group. What you do afterwards is your call, but keep in mind not to anger the gods too often! Wodan is not very forgiving.
Now one might ask how they will fit in with the group - that's very simple. It's completely up to you! Since the warband consisted mainly of carefully picked men and women from all ranks and professions, you can come up with anything! This is not me saying you can be a dragon, nor is this me saying you can be Wodan's son in human form. However, if you want your character to be a simple carpenter that survived somehow because he held out his spear at the right time then that is what he shall be. If you want your character to be a seasoned raider who knew what to do at the right time (or not, maybe he was a clumsy raider that was just always lucky) then you can be that as well.
I'm trying to say here that you can be anything as long as it's not too crazy. If you think of something but fear it might be a bit too much - just ask. Questions don't hurt me (secretly I love questions, they're fun) and in my country we have a saying: you always have a no, and you can only get a yes by asking.
However do keep in mind the fact that you'll have to survive somehow. A carpenter is probably not very well trained in the art of warfare, so he will probably spend most of his time in combat playing a supporting role, if any role at all. In the same way, a raider or soldier is most likely not well versed in anything but that - fighting or maybe leading. Therefore I suggest a more or less balanced party. But I in no way want to confine you to such, if you want to go full soldier survival then be my guest.
From this all I expect people mainly to be open minded to other people their ideas, to be unafraid to tell others your ideas and I love getting feedback about everything. So tell me what you think! If you are too afraid that I might find you rude, I'm Dutch and I'm used to it as it seems to be our natural heritage to be rude whenever we can. If you think, well this can be better, then tell me! If you found the last post awesome, then tell me!
Besides that, I am but a man and I can possibly run out of ideas, so I do expect some form of self-sustainance in the form of you sometimes giving me a few ideas for plot or story development. If you want something to happen IC for your character or the group, then just ask me. I'll probably not say no unless it's really stupid. (no dragons damnit.)
After that list of ''demands'' what can you get in return? An epic story-driven roleplay created by us all. I will try and listen to ideas, suggestions, feedback and actually use it. I will listen to your criticism and try to use that as well. If there's a problem you can't fix yourself, I will help you.
Besides all that, I am ofcourse going to RP with you so I hope you guys will find me a nice guy to RP with as that's generally all this is: just an RP. We should be having fun with it and I truly think with this RP we can.
Now, before we start getting excited I should maybe ask if anyone read through all that and still thinks, YES, this interests me?
In the name of Wodan,
GIVE ME STRENGTH!
