Among the Northmen there are five principal divinities worshiped by the people: Harr, Gorm, Ing, the Earth Mother and Bor. Gorm is the War God and is pictured as a large, red-bearded man who wields a great axe. Harr is his father the wise and cunning magician and master of fate; he is the master of runes and is more aware of the path of destiny than any other being. He is usually pictured as an older man with a long beard. His face is shaded by a hat or hood and he carries a staff Ing is the god of light and fertility and is much called upon by farmers and mothers. He is usually pictured as a smiling young man with blond hair and a short beard. Bor, the great god of the Swerdings, is treated as a mere sun god among the Northmen. The Earth Mother, the goddess of the Druids, is also accorded honor by the Northmen, but not the supreme place she holds among the Druids. The theology of the Northmen pagans is at odds with that of other religions. According to pagan belief all souls wander a grim, gray OtherWorld after death, until reborn into descendants or kinsmen, except for the brave who die in battle with sword in hand. These souls feast forever with Gorm and Harr in the great mead-hall “Borkhafen”. Also, the Swerdings like to claim that Harr, Ing and Gorm are merely the ghosts of mortal kings from the early days of mankind, but the pagans deny this. Instead they say these gods preexisted mankind and merely took on mortal shape in the distant past to drive out the Abominations and to found the race of Northmen. Harr is the great king of all gods, according to the pagans, and Bor and the Earth Mother mere members of his court.

Divine Intervention: Each player should pick one of the 5 gods worshipped among the Northmen as his personal patron. Each of these gods has a special rune assigned. When in a difficult situation, a character can call on his patron for divine intervention. The player must make an impassioned speech to the god, recalling what he’s done to honor the god, and what he will do if helped. If the DM is convinced of his sincerity and passion, the player may draw three runes from the deck and if his god’s rune appears, the player character will be saved from his difficulties somehow (at the DM’s discretion as to means). If a character is ever helped by the god, from then on, only 2 runes are drawn. If he has been helped twice, from then on only 1 rune is drawn when he calls for help. A character can “reset” to 3 runes if he builds a temple and makes a very large sacrifice to the god (as adjudicated by the DM).

GOD	RUNE
Bor	Beorc (Looks like B)
Earth Mother	Gyfu (looks like X)
Harr	Haegl (looks like N)
Ing	Isa (looks like I)
Gorm	Rad (looks like R)

Ceremonies and Festivals: There are many local festivals, but the most important yearly festivals are the Spring Procession, the Hangangar, the Harvest Feast and the Peregrination of the Mother. The Spring procession is much like the one found among the Swerdings and consists of a parade coupled with the carrying of the Sacred Turnip (the largest turnip of the previous harvest). Ing, Bor and the Earth Mother are all honored during the Spring procession. The Hangangar is a grisly ceremony at the beginning of the war season (late Spring). It involves the ritual hanging of slaves or criminals as a sacrifice to Harr, coupled with games and contests of strength in honor of Harr and Gorm. At the Harvest Feast, mead and ale are offered to Ing, Gorm and Harr in gratitude for victory and plenty. The peregrination of the Mother is a strange rite that only appears among the Shefings. They claim to posses a magic wagon that contains the Earth Mother herself. During late autumn the wagon travels the length and breadth of the Shefing lands, and wherever it appears no war or fighting of any kind may take place and rejoicing is mandatory. The wagon is covered by a thick cloth and the inside is seen only by a single priest of a secret order and by certain slaves who clean the wagon after the travels are done, but these wretches are swiftly killed for their trouble.