#lady vikings

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https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D32714281/

Neat! So Hero Forge just dropped a whole bunch of pants as well as some new viking outfits! There’s a kyrtill tunic and breeches and hangerok dress, and both look amazing! Plus there’s a couple new danish axe designs and some tats and warpaint that I think I can have some fun with.

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Viking Girls with Guns

One thing that I cannot thank Ubisoft enough for was letting the viking gals in For Honor be freaking jacked. And not just the bruisers like Raider in that lower pic. The Berserker in top pic is a fast, high-dex assassin character, while the Valkyrie in pic 2 is a shieldmaiden with a lot of reach. And just look at the arms and waists on all three of them!

I’ll admit that the Raider’s lack of abdominal protection bugs me a bit. But I remind myself that it’s A) clearly not done as a pointless sexualization for the pocket-mining demographics, B) shows solidarity with the bare-chested male Raider, and C) we know from the Icelander Sagas themselves that riled-up viking women weren’t afraid to rush in the the fray, tits-out and screaming. 

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Shieldmaidens!

With the new color and design options I revisited my shieldmaiden miniatures and their ten-foot, winged warrior-goddess. I kept a few of the original designs, but since the new release there’re a lot more interesting options to explore. I’ll admit that the viking aesthetics still leave a little to be desired, but they’re way ahead of the Greco/Roman options. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11627410/

One-armed shieldmaiden barbarian. Hide armor and lots of axes. The only thing she misses about having two arms is getting to use more than one axe at a time. Has a weakness for women who aren’t intimidated by her missing arm. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11606274/

Skald warrior-bard. Wears leather armor and packs her favorite shield and broadsword. Carries short-bow and quiver for ranged combat. Also carries song book and hunting horn. Descended from former thralls who were taken as battle captives from lands far away. Rescued from thralldom by Druid and Ranger. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11607041/

Warrior-priestess cleric of the shieldmaiden goddess. Wears a helmet and heavy mail and wields a spear, kite-shield, and hand axe. In her 50s now, but still regularly spends the night with women less than half her age. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11607560/

Druid defending her snowy woodlands with her badger pal. Carries a spear and shield. Uses her nature magic to rescue thralls from greedy land owners and secrets them away to safer places. Wishes Rogue was less enthusiastic about murdering said greedy landowners. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11608369/

Pirate-queen fighter. Successful at her job, she uses her loot to build longboats and buy top-of the line chainmail, axes, and shields for herself and her huskarls. Married to a former Irish noblewoman who she took captive but who didn’t want to be ransomed back to her family. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11608892/

Brawler-monk, drunk, angry and wielding a club. She’s also a bare-knuckle champion and bear-wrestler but prefers wrestling busty tavern-lasses. Once cuckolded two Frankish princelings in the same night. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11632738/

Paladin of the shieldmaiden goddess. Wears mail and carries a broadsword, poleaxe, kite-shield and hunting horn. Became a paladin because she’s secretly gay for her goddess, but for now she’s content dating her headmistress’s daughter. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11633276/

Scout/tracker ranger, patrolling the snowy woodlands with her fox friend. Wears quilted armor and a helmet and carries spear, short-bow, and broadsword. Helps Druid rescue thralls and regularly scouts for Cleric and Paladin’s order. Had an affair with a Greek noblewoman in Constantinople one time. No, wait, two times. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11634178/

Freedom-fighter rouge who specializes in guerilla warfare. Wears leather armor and carries a short-bow and axe. Learned most of what she knows about guerilla fighting from her time spent as a mercenary in Wales. Helps Druid rescue captured thralls. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11652248/

Cryomancer battle-mage sorceress. Uses ice magic to protect her wintry homelands. Wears well-insulated leather armor. Creates her own ice-shields and imbues her spear and crossbow bolts with ice magic. Secretly enjoys warmth in the form of hot teas, hot meals, and hot-girlfriend snuggles. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11681359/

Battle-mage warlock. Wears chainmail and packs a kite-shield and warhammer. Has a talent for carving statues and building model longboats. Helped design figureheads for several of Fighter’s ships. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11686240/

Battle-mage wizard. Wears leather brigandine and carries a longsword with backup shield and broadsword. Former thane who lost her position to her greedy, landowner cousin. Decided she didn’t want it back when Rogue assassinated him. Sorceress’s aforementioned hot girlfriend. https://www.heroforge.com/load_config%3D11686883/

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Lesbian viking solidarity, all the way! Playing a lot of For Honor of late, and so far I think Sabaton provides the best background music.

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Going Viking!

So I’ve been playing Expedition Vikings here recently, and I seriously love so much about it. The basic premise is that your character is the new thegn of a minor viking clan in 790 AD Denmark. Apparently the character’s father was a great warrior, but a very poor thegn, letting his clan and holdings deteriorate while he ran around playing raider. It’s up to the new thegn to return their clan to it’s former glory. Discussion to follow. @we-are-viking, @weareadventurers

Firstly, I love that shieldmaidens are exactly as common and exactly as valid as men-at-arms throughout the game. They can equip all the same gear and have all the same stats, regardless of gender. In fact the developers even gave men and women the exact same body types:

Thin

Medium

Large

Put armor on them, and you can’t really even tell the men from the women, which I think is how more games should be developed, frankly. And story-wise, about the only difference gender makes is which characters the main protag can romance. (Supposedly there are a couple of bi characters that anyone can romance. Still scoping that out.)

Next, I appreciate that the thegn gets to upgrade their homestead, improving the clan’s power and prosperity. The ‘stead’s defenses start as a mound with a sad little fence on top of it, but through upgrades can become a decent palisade with gates and protective watch towers. Other upgrades can be done to farms, roads, the smithy, the training yard, etc to bring the clan greater wealth and power. 

Also, I deeply appreciate the importance placed upon shields in the game’s combat system. Most games include shields merely as a few extra points to armor, while a rare few allow characters to knock their opponents around with their shield. Expeditions makes round shields actually quite crucial to the party’s front line. Shields have a chance to block ranged and melee attacks, preventing characters from taking any of that damage whatsoever. Though melee attacks can damage shields, wearing them out eventually, ranged attacks get blocked altogether with a satisfying thud. 

All-in-all, Expeditions: Viking is a terrific turn-based RPG, with competent graphics, strong story, terrific game-play, effective characterization, and believable world-building. It’s one I strongly recommend to anyone interested in viking history or video roleplaying games. 

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Ulfen Guard, by Akeiron (art direction by Andrew Vallas)

First blog post of 2017! Of the handful of Norse words I know, ulf is their word for ‘wolf,’ which to me says a great deal about our Ulfen guardswoman, in terms of both character and world building. As wolves had sacred significance in Norse culture, it’s possible that the Ulfen Guard are clerics or guards of the temple of Freya. As wolves are pack hunters, it’s possible the Guard are huntresses, patrolling the countryside for brigands or tracking fugitives from justice. As wolves are powerful fighters, perhaps the Guard are bodyguards for the local Earl or elite infantry for the Olaf. As wolves can be nomadic, it’s even possible that the Ulfen Guard are a mercenary company, fighting as sell-spears for the highest bidder. Our heroine’s armor and equipment are perfectly suitable for any of these roles.

(Full discussion)

[ifikeyboardsmashdoesitcount]

Supposed to be: writing a paper, a lab report and doing to physics assignments Actually: listening to really loud music, tumbling, and researching lady Vikings