My journey to discovering Age of Vikings began with a conversation at GenCon. A group of players, for whom my wife GM'ed, asked me, “What do you look for in a game system?” They wished to try something new and expand beyond D&D, and I, too, wanted a change. At the time, I avoided a perfunctory answer and responded that I wanted to play a game where the setting and lore mattered to me. A game I could engage with and understand the world. While my conversation went no further at that moment, I did not forget that moment of clarity.
Fast forward four months, and I found myself searching for recommendations for TTRPG systems. Many forum posts and articles opined about various systems and what they offered, but one post caught my attention. The poster mentioned a new game from Chaosium, called Age of Vikings, citing that they felt it would easily become a top ten game. I read that post several times and the responses it garnered, and decided to visit Chaosium’s website to see what I could learn about the game.
From the description, the game looked interesting, and since the website offered a free adventure with pre-generated characters, I downloaded it to look it over. The adventure "The Cursed Farm” looked like a tightly-scripted, fun adventure. With the Black Friday sale ongoing, I took the plunge and ordered the core book. After reading it several times, I knew I would love this game as it scratched the itch for what I wanted in a game. The D100 skill system is easy to understand, but robust enough to allow for ample roleplaying opportunities. The combat system had complexity without being too crunchy, and provided a deadliness and high stakes in combat that were lacking in other games I played. Battles felt consequential. The magic system is amazing, providing flexibility and rewarding creativity without feeling like a basic iteration of most magical fantasy systems.
I felt I needed to observe, or better yet, play some games to see how the system worked in action prior to personally running the game. I found one online YouTube video, but little else addressing the apprehension on how to oversee the mechanics of the game as a GM. During this search for articles, videos, or tips for DMing this game, I discovered the New Gamemaster Month website and associated Discord server. It was exactly what I needed. I spent the month of January reading articles and having the occasional question answered on the Discord server as I prepared “The Cursed Farm” for its debut. As the end of the month drew near, I felt myself as ready as I would ever be to take the plunge and lead some friends into the world of the Northmen.
The first session started with character creation, and everyone had a blast. The family histories weaved and intersected, providing immersive stories even before we officially started. One player's ancestor died defending a man that another player's ancestor had conspired to murder. Another player's family apparently did very little except stay at home on their farm, while another had their farm wiped out by a volcano. The tapestry of family history even guided the choice of deities for more than one player, changing the direction of their characters from what they initially envisioned. A month later, everyone still talks about the character creation process. The distinctive features also served as an amusing capstone to the character creation process. Two players rolled identically sized characters, but one gained the distinctive features of short legs and gaudy clothes, so now every interaction has her short legs running twice as fast to keep up with everyone else, even as her bright clothes announce her presence.
After the first adventure, everyone loved the game. The skill system and associated means of improvement felt organic. By paying attention to what happens outside of adventure through festivals and farms in the corebook, there is a sense of being more than a game that starts and stops with heroic raids or duels, but acts to simulate the world: something that breathes life into the setting. The magic system received special praise from two players, one of whom selected rune magic and the other the more shamanistic seiður magic. The magic system’s flexibility and fluid nature provided player agency when deciding how to apply magical solutions to problems encountered.
The combat system also generated praise. While it took two sessions before everyone truly became comfortable with its complexities, meaningful but deadly combat well captured the brutality and brevity of combat. Fighting in the Age of Vikings can be lethal! In other games, where character levelling can effectively end or dramatically trivialize encounters with world-bending spells, fighting in Age of Vikings is brief, bloody, but not always to the death. It forces players to decide if they would risk a bloody battle when words might do. These player-decisions abound in the game, and I could wax eloquent on the importance of player agency, but I would humbly submit that interested parties might consider trying the system for themselves.
My praise for the setting and the corebook arises in part from my background: I earned my post-graduate degree in history, and it is the attention to detail and the manner in which misconceptions about the Vikings are highlighted that I much enjoy. This, alongside a nuanced view of a society that by today’s standards must seem contrary. It is a window into a world where a democratic government existed, supported by thralls. A system of laws that ruled a people who went Viking to raid and pillage for wealth. Even as they wrote poetry and revelled in games, they stoically embraced violence as a way of life. The game and accompanying system are a fascinating means by which to transport player and GM into a very different world, both real and mythical, and I think that is what has soundly captured the imaginations of my players and myself.
