Dungeons and Dragons, Birthright : King of the Giantdowns

About the adventure

The Northern Land of the Giantdowns has long been wild and untamed, mostly infested with monsters and humanoids, there are more ancient tombs than houses here. Still, some hardy settlers, exiles and tribal nomads have put down roots here, refusing to be driven out by the endless bandits, monsters and actual giants that assail them. However, with their enemies becoming more and more organized, the small hamlets of Rjuvik must unite to fight off those who would reduce this land back to a lawless waste, for this they must rally to their King. It is time for a Noble Warrior to become..... King of the Giantdowns ! Enter into a gritty low fantasy campaign set in the Frozen North. Set in the Legendary campaign setting of Birthright that inspired Game of Thrones, this campaign has as it's primary focus, adventures which build to trying to form the disparate Rjuvik humans into a unified kingdom. The Rjuvik humans are a blend of various "northlander" tropes, everything from actual Viking sagas and Scandinavian history/proto-history, to fantasy archetypes of the Cimmerians and such, whilst trying to still keep things sober and historical-feeling. Expect themes of honour, destiny, politics (and realpolitik), relationships, secrets, betrayals, generativity, legacy, glorious victory, ignominious defeat, and drinking mead. A good level of role playing, problem solving and political savvy are recommended, as well as a willingness to do a bit of reading that the DM will give, -knowing some background, history and culture of the world will greatly enhance the experience. Whilst battles and such might end up being extremely common sometimes, whole sessions may also be spent talking and figuring out NPCs and alliances etc., so it's also possible that session(s) may also pass without an attack roll being made. There is likely also going to be time spent here and there building and managing estates and families. In this setting your family, lineage and destiny/fate are important, so we'll work these out in a session 0 (there are fate dice/tables to add some *spice*). There are extra mechanics on top of the usual 5E elements to fit the setting (eg : noble bloodlines in Birthright are acquired from ancient deities), races have been reworked, and generally characters start with a little more than "regular" characters. However, there are also some restrictions on various choices so as to better fit the Setting, and some rules are going to be amended to better fit the tone. So, gather 'round the fire, put on your hringserks, grab your sverð, roll the Fate Dice and lift a horn of ale to those warriors killed and mutilated by orcs, skål !