Skal, traveler, and welcome to the Northlands, where hardy folk live amongst the craggy fjords cradling dark, cold waters; a land of berserkers, runic mystics, and Vikings; a land where heroes can challenge the giants and gods themselves!
The Northlands is the latest setting from Kobold Press, published for both the current edition of D&D as well as their own Tales of the Valiant RPG. The two books that comprise the Northlands collection are the World Book, which has all the new character options, like the Nornbound Cleric, the Trickster Warlock, and the Viking subclass for the fighter. There are also five new species you can play, including Bearfolk, Giantkin, Trollkin, and Werekin, as well as Nordic variations on Dwarves and Elves. Among the new backgrounds, you’ll find Seers and Shipwrights, Ice Nomads and Former Captives, and even the Doomed. There are new rules for handling Reputation and Holmganga duels, flyting (insult contests), and a kennings tables to give your Omens that proper Beowulfian flavor. The setting material details both the lands of Humans and Elves, and Dwarves, as well as Jotunheim, the Land of the Giants, where you can discover Bjarmia, the Flying Island of the Cloud Giants, the Fire Giant halls of Blodejord, and the Frost Giant jarldoms of Kaldrgard. And, of course, multiple types of longships as well as naval combat are detailed. The World Book rounds out with 40 monsters, 80 new spells and more than 80 magic items. In short, it’s all you need for mythic Nordic adventures, and then some.
The second book is called Sagas and is comprised of 11 adventures, so you can get into the setting fast. If you play through all 11, they’ll take your PCs from small-town nobodies to the halls of Asgard, where they will take part in truly worlds-shaking events.
The Nordic legends are full of the sorts of bloody combat, wily tricksters, harrowing monsters, and fabulous treasures that make for great D&D. Fans of Kobold Press’ other great setting material will want to add these to their libraries. You can check out a preview of the Worldbook here. Gather your crew and set sail for your local Dragon’s Lair Comics & Fantasy® to get your hands on both books of the Northlands today.
