I just returned from a trip to Scandinavia where I was able to visit numerous old cities including Ribe, the oldest city in Denmark (established 800AD +/-).

There are many Viking RPG supplements, but I'm drawing a blank on any middle ages based games that include much in the vicinity of Northern Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Western Russia etc, most seem to be very England focused.

The period 900-1100AD seems potentially interesting as the Church was gaining power in the lands ruled by the "viking hordes".



This statue is near the cathedral in Ribe. It is of Ansgar, a 9th century missionary to Scandinavia showing him peeling away a very norse looking appearance. It really put me in the mood for a church vs vikings campaign.  

Dragon Magazine had some articles on that I believe. And for 2e there was HR1 Vikings which I believe covered quite a bit of history and lore. There is a section in the book called "Europe 9th and 10th century"

There was a good RuneQuest module for Vikings. That's what I used for my old Vikings game. There's also a Mythic Iceland book for Basic Roleplaying along those lines.

The D&D module HR1 is well-written, but I didn't think D&D is a good fit for Norse role-playing.

There are a number of other supplements - Land of Giants for Pendragon, GURPS Vikings, Vikings (for Fantasy Hero and Rolemaster).

Among more recent games, there is also Sagas of the Icelanders - a Powered-by-the-Apocalypse game.

Yggdrasill might be worth looking at. It's all viking-age (or maybe before?) and Scandinavian-themed.

Mythic Russia is mostly focused eastwards, but has some discussion of the Baltic Coast during the Teutonic Order conquests (13th century), IIRC.

If you prefer not to be locked into Earth history, you might find Hellfrost interesting.
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I do have GURPS Vikings, Russia and Middle Ages 1 (don't think there was ever a pt 2) as well as Mythic Russia from Firebird. These will of course be helpful if I have to DIY this. Unfortunately I'm not aware of anythin to cover the middle ages Baltic states.

I'm potentially using Lion and Dragon as the rule set, I'm not typically a fan of OSR / d20 but I like the tone of the rules and D&D is still the king when it comes to finding players.



The Viking age is typically considered to be the period 800-1066 or so, which puts the focus of most Viking supplements earlier that the period I'm really interested in. They are still quite useful for general cultural reference as the region remained largely pagan long after the church was established, and you can still find traces of viking culture in the area even today. Traditional Danish fishing boats have obvious design features that go back to the viking long ships.


I am not familiar with Yggdrasill but while it does look quite interesting, it is pre-Viking Scandinavia, so many centuries earlier than I'm looking for. It does look interesting regardless of whether or not it ultimately proves useful for my current needs.


I was hoping there might alreday be a game based in the middle ages Baltic / Scandinavian region to reduce work, but wasn't really expecting anything. Seems like it potentially could be as rich an area for ideas as the Mediterranean, just less well known.

Quote from: Greentongue;1056110If you prefer not to be locked into Earth history, you might find Hellfrost interesting.
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Looking for a heavy dose of fantasy, but am interested remaining at least loosely tied to Earth history. Frost giants and other mythical creatures of the region are very welcome though.

Crusaders of the Amber Coast for BRP

Quote from: Gagarth;1056125Crusaders of the Amber Coast for BRP

Thanks, I actually have that on my (long) to get list but had forgotten that it covers the Baltic region.

Quote from: Toadmaster;1056114I was hoping there might alreday be a game based in the middle ages Baltic / Scandinavian region to reduce work, but wasn't really expecting anything. Seems like it potentially could be as rich an area for ideas as the Mediterranean, just less well known.

There was a game called Rus which may be what you're after, available on Amazon here.

VIKINGS & VALKYRIES
http://mazesandminotaurs.free.fr/VIK.pdf

It's a free PDF based on the awesome Mazes & Minotaurs.

M&M amuses me, I wasn't aware they had branched out into other genres. As with the other viking suggestions, not quite right but certainly useful none the less.

Quote from: Kyle Aaron;1056191There was a game called Rus which may be what you're after, available on Amazon here.

Wow based on the description that looks perfect.

I didn't find any reviews but did find a few comments in an old thread and it doesn't sound too good. Basically a stripped down D&D, and most glaringly complaints that it provides minimal background for the setting.


https://forum.rpg.net/showthread.php?192847-Anyone-remember-know-about-RUS-fantasy-role-playing-in-Heathen-Russia


If it were available cheap on DTRPG or something I'd give it a look, but think I'll pass at $51. Thanks though, it looks good at first glance.

Sagas of the Icelanders and Mythic Iceland for RQ are very good for playing in real nordic culture where christianity is slowly gaining ground and changing the way of life of people.

Sagas even reflect this change through it's rules. Ie: forward in the game when christianity has arrived, characters may opt to convert. If they do it, they ignore some central rules like "Upholding honor" and bonds with gods. If you know Monsterhearts, it's similar to the "Growing up" rules that open up for characters that reach adulthood.

Man, you should have gone to Norway. We have medieval stave churches decorated in a style that still looks very much like viking art. As for RPGs of that period I'm drawing a blank too.