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.

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.

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.

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.

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

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

• 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.

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

• 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.

• 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.