Homebrew Viking Species Details

At the highest mountain peaks — far above the slopes where trees grow and where the air is thin and the frigid winds howl — dwell the reclusive Vikings. Vikings wander a bleak realm of rock, wind, and cold. Their bodies look as if they are carved from mountain stone and give them great physical power. Their spirits take after the wandering wind. Their hearts are infused with the cold regard of their frigid realm, leaving each Viking with the responsibility to earn a place in the tribe or die trying.

Driven Competitors

Every day brings a new challenge to a Viking. Food, water, and shelter are rare in the uppermost mountain reaches. A single mistake can bring doom to an entire tribe, while an individual’s heroic effort can ensure the entire group’s survival.

Vikings thus place a premium on self-sufficiency and individual skill. They have a compulsion to keep score, counting their deeds and tallying their accomplishments to compare to others. Vikings love to win, but they see defeat as a prod to improve their skills.

This dedication to competition has a dark side. Vikings are ferocious competitors, but above all else they are driven to outdo their past efforts. If a Viking slays a dragon, he or she might seek out a larger, more powerful wyrm to battle. Few Vikings adventurers reach old age, as most die attempting to surpass their past accomplishments.

Fair Play

For Vikings, competition exists only when it is supported by a level playing field. Competition measures talent, dedication, and effort. Those factors determine survival in their home territory, not reliance on magic items, money, or other elements that can tip the balance one way or the other. vikings happily rely on such benefits, but they are careful to remember that such an advantage can always be lost. A viking who relies too much on them can grow complacent, a recipe for disaster in the mountains.

This trait manifests most strongly when vikings interact with other folk. The relationship between peasants and nobles puzzles vikings. If a king lacks the intelligence or leadership to lead, then clearly the most talented person in the kingdom should take his place. vikings rarely keep such opinions to themselves, and mock folk who rely on society’s structures or rules to maintain power.

Survival of the Fittest

Among vikings, any adult who can’t contribute to the tribe is expelled. A lone viking has little chance of survival, especially an older or weaker one. Vikings have little pity for adults who can’t take care of themselves, though a sick or injured individual is treated, as a result of the viking concept of fair play.

A permanently injured viking is still expected to pull his or her weight in the tribe. Typically, such a viking dies attempting to keep up, or the viking slips away in the night to seek the cold will of fate.

In some ways, the vikings drive to outdo themselves feeds into the grim inevitability of their decline and death. A viking would much rather die in battle, at the peak of strength and skill, than endure the slow decay of old age. Few folk have ever meet an elderly viking, and even those vikings who have left their people grapple with the urge to give up their lives as their physical skills decay.

Because of their risk-taking, viking tribes suffer from a chronic lack of the experience offered by long- term leaders. They hope for innate wisdom in their leadership, for they can rarely count on a wisdom grown with age.

Viking Traits

Vikings share a number of traits in common with each other.

Rough Hands

yours hands can stop small blades as natural armor

Ability Score Increase

Your Strength score increases by 4, your Constitution score increases by 3, Wisdom increases by 3

Age

Vikings have lifespans comparable to humans. They enter adulthood in their late teens and usually live less than a century.

Alignment

Viking society, with its clear roles and tasks, has a strong lawful bent. The viking sense of fairness, balanced with an emphasis on self- sufficiency and personal accountability, pushes them toward neutrality.

Size

Vikings are between 7 and 8 feet tall and weigh between 280 and 340 pounds. Your size is Large.

Speed

Your base walking speed is 50 feet.

Natural Athlete

You have proficiency in the Athletics skill, Nature skill. Religion skill. Animal handling skill. Perception skill. Insight skill. Acrobatics skill.

Stone’s Endurance

You can focus yourself to occasionally shrug off injury. When you take damage, you can use your reaction to roll a d12. Add your Constitution modifier to the number rolled, and reduce the damage by that total. After you use this trait, you can’t use it again until you finish a short or long rest.

Powerful Build

You count as one size larger when determining your carrying capacity and the weight you can push, drag, or lift.

Mountain Born

You’re acclimated to high altitude, including elevations above 20,000 feet. You’re also naturally adapted to cold climates, as described in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

Languages

You can speak, read, and write. Can quickly learn any language