Svilland
Svilland is a Viking Ethnic Fantasy third-party setting for Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. It is, frankly, a very paint-by-numbers "Nordic Fantasy" setting, with a deliberately Low Fantasy vibe and playing up the Grimdark.
Official Description[edit | edit source]
Svilland is a land of last resort. People have escaped here from the deadly Black Winter of the north. Their escape from frost jotnar conquerors resulted in their bloody conquest over the Vanir and kuning. Through the ages, they may have founded civilizations, kingdoms. Yet, Svilland will always remain as a land of people that are at the edge of massacre by a new forthcoming horde. The cycle keeps repeating itself as the new replacing the old, and those who settle are never relieved from their survival instinct.
Unlike many other Dungeons and Dragons games, Svilland Campaign Setting has an atmosphere that is ruthless, grim, and dark. Heroes here become so with bloody challenges of the mortal and the divine alike. The pantheon of Odin the Allfather does not provide protection and power out of lightly love of some D&D gods. The gods and goddesses of Svillanders desire bloody sacrifices and weave vicious tests over mortals to see their worth. Divinity is not inherent, it is earned, often through deadly means.
The cultures of Svilland reflect this cosmology as well. Kings and queens need to be tough and worthy of war as much as they need to be respected by their kin. As kingdoms are not fully established and rather are gatherings of warlords, political struggle and raids on villages are a common part of Svillanders’ way of life.
Consequently, adventurers in Svilland are not well-greeted everywhere. Because of the mistrust between different races, or even clans, commoners in a town don’t often greet strangers with a warm welcome. Still, bardship and storytelling are common arts of the land. As an adventurer, your accomplishments may quickly find their way to the tongues of people. Reputation is hard to earn, but it is well-respected once it is earned.
As many places are in constant threat by hostile clans, jarls, or monsters in the wilderness, there is always a fight that you can prove yourself worthy to Valhalla. On the other hand, you should not lose your vigilance when you are travelling. You should keep an eye on the horizon and set up patrols among your party. Those who are arrogant enough to underestimate their opponent or hunt may become the hunted quite fast.
Races[edit | edit source]
Svilland has four different human ethnicities - Austri, Kuning, Mithal and Vestri - and two non-human races; the Dvergar (dwarves) and Half-Jotunn.
Classes[edit | edit source]
Svilland drops druids, wizards, warlocks and monks; it has new classes called the Runewalker and the Seidr to stand in for wizards and druids respectively. Sorcerers are well-represented, but derive their power from a fundamental connection to a single Rune. Paladins are here, but are called Alle, and have unique subclasses based on the different gods. Clerics are called Gothi. Lots of subclasses, but frankly many of them are just clunkier reworkings of subclasses that already existed in core 5e.