What of the other gods?

[nick012000]

Okay, so obviously in Fate of the Norns, Norse mythology is real. However, judging by the Crusader, Christians appear to have supernatural power as well. This implies that their is some truth to the Christian religion; at the very least, the White God appears to be a divine being who exists. But, do his assorted divine servants like angels and saints exist as well? How does the death of a Christian character interact with the Afterlife roll? Do you still need to roll for your Christian character to be collected by an angel, or does it happen automatically?

Is the Pope still John the Tenth, or have the results of Ragnarok resulted in his early death? Aethelstan is still King of the Anglo-Saxons, rather than King of the English, which puts the date as somewhere between 924 and 927, and Pope John the Tenth was pope from 914 to 928 in the Original Time Line. How is Christendom reacting to proof of the existence of a pagan religion, and the fact that the gods of said pagan religion are trying to end the world? There's references to crusaders in the books, but the First Crusade won't happen for about another 170 years; did the Pope call it early, to try to prevent pagan gods from destroying the world? Are the Crusaders likely to see Angels and Saints come down to assist them, in a similar fashion to how the Norse Immortals might?

And what of other pagan gods? Do the gods of the Balts and Slavs exist, and if they do, how have they reacted to Ragnarok? I've read an account of a story supposedly from Slavic mythology that describes a battle between the Aesir and the gods of the Slavs, after the Aesir led a mortal invasion against the Slavic people; are the Slavic gods liable to get involved in Ragnarok? How has the fact that Skoll and Hati ate the sun and moon affect the sun- and moon-gods of other pantheons? Were, for instance, Amaterasu and Tsukiyomi (the sun- and moon-gods of the Japanese religion) swallowed up along with the celestial object that they're the gods of, or have they just been rendered homeless (and weakened?) until Ragnarok is over?

[andrew]

Fantastic question Nick!

The Fate of the Norse universe revolves primarily around Midgard (the lands between Islandia and the Baltic Sea, Denmark/UK all the way up to Svalbard) and the outer realms (Asgard, Vanagard, etc...). The other pantheons and cultures are classified under "outer Midgard". The other pantheons/mythologies have preternatural powers, however the focus isn't on them. So you won't see a list of Japanese or Egyptian gods. We *may* go into the Baltic, Celtic and Native American cultures and myths in follow-up materials, but our primary focus are the Viking myths (and there's a lot of content there).

Since we won't be providing source books on what has happened to the Mediterranean cultures after the sun and moon has been devoured, it is up to each play group to decide just how far the impacts of Ragnarok are felt. Feel free to house rule what happens in outer-Midgard. However the FOTN universe acknowledges magic and divine powers in other pantheons. The view looking through a Viking philosopher's looking glass is that they live upon other cosmic trees that sit within the proximity of Yggdrasil.

The armies of Otto 1 have had to react to the northern cataclysm and so the initial crusade is to the north. He is the head of the Teutonic order (East Francia) but we're also fast forwarding his ascension to the emperor of the Holy Roman empire. Missionaries and crusaders do have powers that are derived from beyond the mortal realm, so feel free to introduce them. It is a very interesting period for the popes as very few have any long reigns during this period. It's also the tumultuous period where the Theophylacti rule from the shadows. The 900's in general are rich with intrigue and strife - Perfect for Ragnarok!

The time period for the Core Rulebook was set to about 936 AD. However as more source materials are being written, I am juxtaposing events from about 920 to 965 in order to make the second age as interesting as it can be. The third age will no longer align with the history as the history will be re-written by all of the play-throughs of the upcoming saga trilogy. So who lives, who dies, who wins and who loses will be defined by all of the ongoing world-defining games. The saga trilogy will be built in a way that allows Norns to shape the world based on the major events the players will trigger via their actions.

Hope this helps!

[DavetheLost]

I could see a valid case being made for the Mediteranean not directly participating in Ragnarok. Perhaps the Revalation of John is coming to pass there?

I am sure that I will have some impact from Celtic and Skraeling deities etc when and if the campaign reaches their areas of influence.

I have a hard time seeing Ragnarok as globally effecting the whole world. Partly this is because I don't think the Earth being a globe was a common conception at the time.

Seeing the game as definitely be Nordicentric, even though the Vikings were well travelled and traded extensively, I think the world will become less and less a mirror of our real world the farther one travels from the Viking center. Go far enough and you will reach a literal edge of the world.