The Cursed Raider (Rotss) Image

Once you were an accomplished raider with a promising future, but you had also become arrogant and overly proud. You thought of yourself as a walking legend and your place in the Halls of Slain was surely guaranteed! Then you made the unfortunate mistake of allowing a rival clan's foul-tongued skald to survive after a raiding victory. That skald cursed you upon that battlefield:

"No death shall find you,
As you walk all paths, across all lands,
Beyond and below, all living things,
Till the wolf rises at the forever sunset."

You laughed off the curse, but that evening you choked on the bones of a boar while celebrating your victory and died an inglorious death. Your clan left you on that beach in the middle of nowhere, to be claimed by Hel and brought to her Underworld. They mourned for you, knowing that your death was unworthy, and you would never enter the Halls of the Slain.

Yet you returned to life the very next day. Since then, you have died several more times, but you always rise again, the following morning. Now you seek a way to end the curse so that you might die as a raider should and earn your place in the Halls of the Slain.

Your quest to break free from this eternal burden involves three crucial tasks: first, you must find the elf skald who cursed you and learn how to break the curse; second, you must gather the necessary components and knowledge to prepare yourself, seeking out powerful items like a deathbringer weapon or a bronze horn of Valhalla; finally, you must sever the curse's grip on your soul through whatever means the skald reveals. Your ultimate goal is to enter the Halls of the Slain—you have lived many lives and long for your place beside the great hearth fires. To achieve this, you must die honorably in an epic battle that atones for both your prior arrogance and the numerous minor deaths you have incurred during your eternal existence.

 
 
Suggested Characteristics
d6 Personality Trait
1 Nobody believes me when I tell them about my past, so I hide it.
2 I speak in kennings—using compound words such as ankle biter (young child) or battle-sweat (blood) or whale-road (the sea).
3 I cannot keep my mouth shut when I see others make mistakes. There is a right way to do things and it is my duty to tell others.
4 Sometimes I think I am living in the Halls of the Slain already and so are all those around me. Maybe nobody really dies? Maybe reality is not what it seems?
5 I hate singing of any kind and will go out of my way to avoid hearing it.
6 I think with each death I lose a bit of myself—memories or abilities or humanity. I am terrified of dying now.
d6 Ideal
1 Charity. It is my duty to help protect and provide for others. (Good)
2 Freedom. There is no point in any connections to others, for they will all wither and die. I go where I shall. (Chaotic)
3 Might. I have lived so long in order to hone my battle skills and I now take what I want from weaker folk. (Evil)
4 Live and Let Live. I am much like the wild forests themselves. We live as we must. (Neutral)
5 Knowledge. One blessing of this long life is that I have time to learn many wondrous things. (Neutral)
6 Aspiration. I will free myself from this never-ending life. (Any)
d6 Bond
1 I have given up on the Stone Court and worship Mirgal as the one true god of Grimnir.
2 I have had many children over the years and do my best to watch over them. I sometimes even travel with them, in disguise, to better protect them.
3 I am fond of a particular valley, forest, or mountain. Only the natural world remains for me to care about.
4 I believe the only future for Grimnir is to make real the prophecies of the völv and defeat our adversaries at Ragnarök.
5 I long for the life I lost and often return to my original homestead.
6 I hear voices from the darkened woods and am drawn to understand them better.
d6 Flaw
1 I fear I shall never enter the Halls, and so I act recklessly to prove myself.
2 Finding new experiences becomes harder and harder over the centuries and I will leap at the chance to do something different.
3 I am immensely jealous when I see another warrior act valorously, for I fear they will take my rightful spot in the Halls of the Slain.
4 I am terrified of being imprisoned, forced to live a life, or many lives, in restraints.
5 I would feel shame if others knew my secret.
6 I mock those that eat meat, since I've avoided it ever since choking to death.
 
The Cursed Raider (Rotss) Image