Passions

Icelandic myths and sagas are full of intense passion and emotional turbulence, which can lead to heights of heroism and depths of tragedy. Love, Hate, Fear, Honor, and Loyalty are often placed in terrible conflict with one another and challenge personal codes of honor. Inspired heroes may perform with superhuman effort and with a greater likelihood of success.

Basic Passions

Several common passions are described here, typifying those felt most intensely by heroes.

Fear (Type or Individual)

Fear is perhaps one of the strongest passions, driving all manner of behavior, for better or worse. Fear can cause an individual to flee from the subject or act irrationally to escape its presence. It can even cause an adverse reaction.

Common Fears can be focused on a particular group, such as trolls or a rival family. It can also be focused on an individual, such as a former enemy or treacherous relative. Fear cannot be defined toward general concepts or forces, such as death or ruin, and is generally not useful when the subject is something any reasonable being would fear, such as a god or a force as vast as the army of the Norwegian king.

When used to inspire a hero, the subject of the Fear must either be present or their presence must be imminent. One cannot by motivated by Fear (trolls) if there are no trolls in the area or any indication of the impending arrival of one. The threat of confronting the subject must be real and immediate.

Being inspired by Fear may improve the hero’s attempt to avoid the subject, help them flee from it, or improve their defense against it. It may also spur them to violent opposition when cornered. In certain situations, the gamemaster may ask the player to roll for their Fear passion if the hero is embarking on a course of action that would put them into contact with the source of their fear.

Hate (Group or Individual)

Hatred motivates many people in Iceland. Common hatreds in Iceland include: jötunn, trolls, polar bears, merfolk, elves, (individuals), (other countries), Christian missionaries, (rival family), and the undead. These are just examples; hatred can be toward anything the gamemaster accepts.

When used for inspiration, Hatred can only be used against a specific foe or narrow type of foes. This can be contrasted with Loyalty or Love, which can inspire a hero to combat all the foes before them that threaten the subject of the passion, not just one type.

Hates can also be aimed at specific people, such as Hate (Sturla the Bald) or Hate (King Óláfur Tryggvason).

Honor

Honor is a personal code of dignity and integrity. It is about maintaining life, property, status, and exacting revenge when appropriate.

Honor is not a slippery issue, subject to interpretation. The difference between honorable action and dishonorable action is clear to everyone, no matter how they behave. The Dishonor table lists actions that all Icelanders agree are dishonorable. Performing these deeds diminishes Honor.

Dishonor Table

Dishonorable Act	Honor Lost
Attacking an unarmed foe	–5%
Cowardice	–5%
Discourtesy to a guest in your home	–10%
Raiding the grave of a person who still has living relatives	–10%
Not avenging or seeking compensation for an insult to oneself or to a family member	–10%
Declining the challenge to a duel	–10%
Treason against your family or goði	–15%
Breaking an oath	–25%
Attacking or stealing from a guest (or allowing it to happen)	–25%
Killing a guest	–35%
Violence by adults against children	–35%
Sexual assault	–35%
Killing kinsfolk	–35%

A hero who acts dishonorably will lose Honor, even if no one else knows about it. Honor is about an individual’s view of their own integrity. How others view the hero’s honor is measured by Status, not Honor.

Honor, like all other passions, can be increased through successful usage, with experience.

Loyalty

Loyalty is the cornerstone of all society beyond the family. It is the social bond that connects members of a community together. It is a prerequisite when calling upon that community for support.

A hero with conflicting loyalties may use their respective Loyalty ratings to determine an appropriate course of action. The player can simply choose based on the higher Loyalty rating or test them as an opposed roll. Thus, a player can use an opposed roll to determine if their hero will obey their goði or their family if those loyalties are in conflict.

• Loyalty (goði) is the measure of loyalty to the chieftain-priest whose role is to advocate or mediate disputes and to represent the people settled on the goði’s chieftaincy assemblies. In exchange, heroes are expected to aid their goði in just cases whenever their support is required. Loyalty (goði) is used to gain the personal support of one’s goði.
• Loyalty (family) is the measure of the bond between a hero and their extended family. It typically includes an obligation to avenge injuries or even malicious rumors against family members. Loyalty (family) is used to gain the support of the family.
• Loyalty (individual) is the measure of a hero’s bond with a specific individual, such as a mentor or close friend. Loyalty (individual) is also used to gain the personal support of that individual.

Community Support

A hero’s Loyalty passion can be used to gain the support of a community or individual. In times of trouble, the adventure may use their Loyalty to determine if the local communal unit will offer help. The gamemaster should determine the exact nature and extent of the support a given community can supply.

Love

Love is an emotional bond or attraction felt by one individual for another individual or group. A hero may have many loves.

• Love (family) is a natural emotion common to humankind in any age or culture. Close family is the most important community one can belong to in Iceland. Family members are expected to support, protect, and avenge each other. Kin-strife is widely considered a great tragedy.
• Love (individual) indicates a deep feeling and attraction for another person. It usually implies physical and carnal commitment, although it may also include unrequited love.

Using Passions

Passions define a hero’s life intentions and serve to inspire them. The gamemaster may call for a passion roll. At other times, a player may suggest and request one, with the gamemaster’s approval. Remember that the gamemaster has the final say on the appropriateness of attempting to use a passion for inspiration. Players are warned that passion rolls can be extremely risky as well as rewarding; a fumbled passion roll results in Despair!

Ultimately, the player is in command of their hero’s actions and behavior in any but the most extraordinary circumstances. A failed passion roll cannot force a hero to do what they would not want to do; it merely suggests how the hero’s own feelings suggest they behave. Only in the case of Despair or some supernatural influence does a player lose control of their hero’s behavior.

Inspiration

A hero may attempt to be inspired by their passion and request a passion roll to augment a skill.

Only one attempt at inspiration can be made in a situation or “scene”—such as the duration of a skirmish, battle, assembly meeting, magic ritual, etc. An inspiration roll cannot be made multiple times for the same action. The inspiration lasts for the duration of the activity, with a maximum duration of one day. If in doubt, the gamemaster determines the duration of the inspiration. An inspiration attempt based on a passion does not require additional time; it can happen as part of another action and does not add to the DEX rank.

If a hero has already rolled to be inspired by a passion or has been inspired by a Devotion, additional attempts cannot be made using a different passion. Additionally, the bonus from inspiration cannot be combined with an augment from another skill. Remember that the gamemaster has the final say on the appropriateness of an inspiration attempt and its duration. The player must roll against the passion’s rating on a D100:

• Critical Success: The hero is inspired and acts very strongly in accordance with the passion. One ability of the player’s choice temporarily receives a +50% bonus. This persists for the duration of the task or situation that evoked the passion roll. An experience check is gained in the passion.
• Special Success: The hero is inspired and acts strongly in accordance with the passion. One ability of the player’s choice temporarily receives a +30% bonus. This persists for the duration of the task or situation that evoked the passion roll. An experience check is gained in the passion.
• Success: If successful, the hero is inspired and acts in accordance with the passion. Immediately add +20% to one ability for the duration of the task or situation that evoked the passion roll. An experience check is gained in the passion.
• Failure: The hero is despondent. The hero modifies all further rolls by –10% for the duration of the situation that brought on the state.
• Fumble: The hero is crushed by negative thoughts. The passion’s rating is immediately reduced by –1D10%, and the hero is overcome by Despair. Despair might last for a few minutes or a few days, as determined by the gamemaster based on a roll on the Despair table (following). For the duration of the Despair, the hero’s actions are limited to running away or hiding.

If a passion is reduced to 0%, it is removed from the hero sheet. A passion cannot be a negative value. Additionally, the hero can never regain a passion that has been lost in this manner; it has been exhausted and cannot be renewed unless the gamemaster determines that an extraordinary set of circumstances or behavior merits its return.

Gaining a Passion

Passions may be gained during play. Heroes should receive ample opportunities to gain enemies, loved ones, allies, and loyalties.

Both the player and gamemaster should agree upon passions. When a hero experiences a significant event, the gamemaster or player may suggest that a passion has been generated. After the passion has been discussed, the gamemaster and player determine a starting value together. The minimum starting value for a new passion is usually 60%.

Despair Table

1D10	Duration of Despair
1–3	1D10 combat rounds
4–7	4D10+10 combat rounds
8–9	Until sunset, sunrise, or similar length of time
10	1D3 game days

Mandatory Rolls

Passions and Devotions with a rating of 80% or higher can place your hero at the mercy of the gamemaster. These should represent staunchly held beliefs and connections and are not to be taken lightly or used only when convenient. Such extreme passions and Devotions can require the player to make mandatory rolls due to these beliefs at the gamemaster’s discretion. In general, the gamemaster has several options if a hero’s actions contradict a relevant passion rating.

• Reduce the Passion: Immediately reduce the passion to a level below 80, which is the threshold for behavior mandates.

• Opposed Rolls: Ask if the hero would like to oppose the Devotion passion with another Devotion or passion. This is made as an opposed roll. If the opposed ability wins the contest with the passion or Devotion, the hero can act in a different manner, as dictated by the trait that won. This must be reasonable for the specific situation.