Much like the Miskatonic Repository for Call of Cthulhu, Seventh Edition, the Jonstown Compendium for RuneQuest: Roleplaying in Glorantha, and The Companions of Arthur for Pendragon, Sagas of the North is a curated platform for user-made content, but for material set in Iceland the other lands that the Vikings travelled to. It enables creators to sell their own original content for use with Age of Vikings. This can be original scenarios, background material, alternate Icelandic settings, and more, but none of this content should be considered to be ‘canon’, but rather fall under ‘Your Vikings Will Vary’. This means that there is still scope for the authors to create interesting and useful content that others can bring to their Age of Vikings campaigns.
—oOo—
It is a full colour, seventeen page, 14.13 MB PDF.
It contains a secret message the author’s cat.
The layout is tidy, but it does need an edit in places.
Where is the Saga set?
The Mystery of Raider Monks begins near the home of the Player Characters or that of their goði, but will take them far away and back again!
Who should be the subject of this Saga?
Any type of Player Character can take part in this saga. A Player Character able to sail a ship will be useful.
What does the Saga require?
The Mystery of Raider Monks only requires the Age of Vikings core rulebook.
Where will the Vikings go in this Saga?
The Mystery of the Raider Monks starts with a bang—or rather, with the clash of steel—and a mystery. As the title suggests, why are monks landing on the Icelandic coast and attacking any farmstead they find? It sounds as they are going ‘Vikinging’ or raiding, but they seem hellbent on beating to death anyone they find with their clubs and maces and do so in the name of Christ. The influx of Christianity and its increased adoption by many Icelanders is seen as a threat by many, but is this taking things too far? The scenario opens with such a raid and the Player Characters close by to intervene and hopefully drive the monks back to their ship. The staging advice for the battle is solid and the opening scenes provide some decent opportunities for the Player Characters to shine.
Even though the behaviour of the monks seems very strange, everyone after the battle will be calling for revenge and likely for the blood debt now owed by the monks to be paid. This will take the form of a raid on the monastery in Ireland where the monks who attacked the farmsteads came from. Securing the necessary boats can be run in as much detailed required, but could present some opportunities for roleplaying if the players want their characters to negotiate and bargain for supplies and boats. Or it could be run somewhere between the two, but either way it should make use of the Preparation rules in Age of Vikings. A second round of preparation should follow once the Player Characters and their ships reach the Irish coast as they scout the area, land in a favourable position, and so on. The sea journey is glossed over in the scenario, but an encounter roll or two would not go amiss if the Game Master and her players have more time.
The raid itself uses the rules from Age of Vikings for handling the process, and again, can be as abstract or detailed as is necessary. Again, the Player Characters will be facing yet more surprisingly fanatical Christian monks, but also, potentially, the true villain behind the raids. Although the scenario can be played as a one-shot, it works best as an addition to campaign as there are ramifications and consequences of the events of the raid on Ireland.
What will the Skalds sing of this Saga?
The Mystery of the Raider Monks is a short scenario that will probably take a session or two at most to complete. It not only presents an intriguing mystery—though quickly resolved—it also makes good use of the Preparation and Raiding rules. Although the Game Master may want to flesh it out a little, primarily in the scenes in which the raid on the monastery is being prepared, The Mystery of the Raider Monks is solid addition to any Age of Vikings campaign.
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