creatures [Ron Helwig's Viking World for D&D]

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# Norse Creatures

This page lists the kinds of beings one might encounter in a Norse-inspired D&D campaign. Some are rooted in historical Norse culture, while others are adapted from myth or modern fantasy. Explanations are provided where helpful or where real mythology differs from typical D&D assumptions.

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## Farm Animals

Most Norse communities would be very familiar with the animals typically found on Northern European farms.

- **Cats** – Kept for pest control. Also sacred to Freyja, and sometimes believed to bring good luck.
- **Chickens** – Common household livestock; eggs were a reliable food source.
- **Cows** – Valued for milk and cheese. Expensive to maintain; typically owned by wealthier households.
- **Dogs** – Guardians, companions, and hunters. Their barking alone kept away predators and intruders.
- **Goats** – Hardy, versatile, and common. Provide milk and clean up food scraps. Mythologically linked to Thor’s goats, Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr.
- **Horses** – Rare and valuable. Used for travel, status, and ritual sacrifice. Sacred in some traditions.
- **Pigs** – Meat and waste disposal. Sausages and bacon were food staples. In myth, Freyr's golden boar Gullinbursti is notable.
- **Sheep** – Provided wool and meat. Their fleece was important for winter clothing and trade.

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## Wild Animals

These animals would be familiar to Norse communities through hunting, storytelling, or danger.

- **Badgers**
- **Bats**
- **Bears** – Associated with berserkers; sacred and feared.
- **Boars** – Symbol of Freyr; fierce and difficult to hunt.
- **Deer**
- **Eagles**
- **Elk** – Massive and respected; often symbolic of wild strength.
- **Foxes**
- **Frogs**
- **Hawks**
- **Lynx**
- **Mountain Lions / Puma / Panther** – Likely legendary or exaggerated through travel tales.
- **Owls**
- **Rabbits**
- **Rats**
- **Ravens** – Especially sacred. Odin's companions Huginn and Muninn ("Thought" and "Memory").
- **Snakes**
- **Spiders**
- **Squirrels** – Ratatoskr is the gossiping squirrel on the world tree Yggdrasil.
- **Turtles**
- **Weasels**
- **Wolves & Wargs** – Feared and revered. Fenrir is the most famous wolf in Norse myth.

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## Monsters

Beings of myth and legend, often representing chaos, fate, or primal forces.

- **Dragons / Wyrms** – Symbolic of greed, destruction, and fate. Often associated with hoards or curses.
- **Draugr & Gjenganger** – Undead Norse figures. Draugr guard treasure; Gjenganger return for revenge or unfinished business.
- **Fafnir** – A dwarf transformed into a dragon by his greed; famously slain by the hero Sigurd.
- **Gullinbursti** – A golden boar forged by dwarves; sacred mount of Freyr.
- **Hafgufa / Lyngbakr** – Legendary sea monsters said to appear as islands. Possibly inspired later kraken myths.
- **Hellhounds / Garm** – Garm guards the gates of Hel; destined to fight at Ragnarök. A massive, terrifying hound.
- **Kraken** – Modern term; mythologically a merging of Norse sea monster tales like the Hafgufa.
- **Landvættir** – "Land spirits" that protect regions; still symbolically important in Icelandic culture.
- **Marmenill (Mermen)** – Aquatic humanoids; appear in Norse sagas as magical or treacherous beings.
- **Nixie** – Possibly derived from the Germanic/Norse *nøkk* or *nykr*, a shapeshifting water spirit known for luring people to drown.
- **Sea Serpent** – Could refer to Jörmungandr, the world-serpent, or lesser oceanic threats.
- **Trolls** – Dangerous, often dim-witted giants of the wilderness. In original myths, varied greatly in size and power.

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## Races

Many creature “races” in D&D are loosely based on Norse ideas, but often diverge heavily from original myth.

### Dwarves

- In Norse myth, dwarves (*dvergar*) are **master craftsmen**, often living underground.
- There’s no clear evidence that they were short or stocky—that’s a later (possibly Christian) addition.

### Elves

- *Álfar* (elves) are mentioned in original texts, but their nature is vague.
- Not explicitly fey or immortal, and physically indistinguishable from humans.
- In D&D, they typically have pointed ears and magical ancestry—acceptable for gameplay purposes.

### Aesir & Vanir

- Divine beings. The **Aesir** represent war, order, and rulership (e.g., Odin, Thor).
- The **Vanir** are fertility and nature gods (e.g., Freyr, Freyja).
- For gameplay, these can be seen as long-lived, powerful humanoids—akin to celestials or demigods.

### Jotuns

- The *jötnar* (often Anglicized as Jotuns or giants) are chaotic and diverse in myth.
- Many appear humanoid in form, not necessarily massive or monstrous.
- In D&D, we treat them as giants and group them accordingly: fire giants, frost giants, storm giants, etc.

### Goliaths

- A modern D&D invention.
- For Norse-inspired campaigns, they can be described as **descendants of Jotuns**—particularly the stone giants (*Jotunstein*).

### Warforged

- Originally from Eberron, these constructed beings don’t exist in Norse myth.
- In this setting, they are creations of **Byzantine artificers** in Constantinople, used for military service.
- After 20 years, they gain their freedom. Characters of this type should take the **Varangian** background.

### Tabaxi

- Feline humanoids with no basis in Norse mythology.
- Here, they are reimagined as **Egyptian-born wanderers**, natural enemies of gnolls.
- Their foreign nature makes them exotic and mysterious to most Norsefolk.