War Wolves of Barad'Dun

CODIFYING THE CODEX

The War Wolves are presently in the act of Mustering. As we test our codex there will be additions and edits as we test them. The following are tentative additions:

A. WOLF FIGHT: The wolf is considered armored.

B. NORSE DUEL: HOLMGANG OR EINVIGI: Spectator participation required. A Norse duel was a point of honor between participants. Any fighter stepping two feet off/out of the "hide" (fighting square) by Norse mentality is retreating or even 'running away'. Thus of course for a Norse Duel, the fight is stopped and the fighter looses a point. For Einvigi, the fighter looses the match.

During the Norse Duel, the fighter stepping off the 'Hide' and loosing a point can not reenter the hide until the spectators (and herald) do any or all of the following in this exact order...

1. Boo loudly the shame of retreating, on the first of such actions. Then tell the fighter to reenter the fight.

2. On the second offence by the same fighter (should he step out again) He should be "Stoned" by the spectators (Alls spectators should bring foam rocks to a Norse Duel for just such an occaision) before being allowed back in to fight.

3. On the Third such offence by the same fighter (For shame) that fighter will be booed and stoned and when the duel is over must report to either the Shipmaster, or the Pack Leader or if neither are present, then a member of the Realm's Tribunal, to report for pennance duty. Said duty may be running for water, heralding, camp/pracitce clean up, or some such duty deemed acceptable by Odin for pennance.

These rules only apply should the fighter willingly step out of the "hide". It does not count if they are pushed out, though they would still loose a point for being out of the hide.

C. GRAPPLING DURING DUELS: No grappling is allowed during a Norse Duel on the Hide or the Einvigi circle. However, Grappling is allowed on a Ship duel. When grappling, the first fighter to touch the ground with any part of the body other than the sole of their feet or the palms of their hands, loose a point if the fight is on points. If not on points then the fight would continue under normal fighting rules.

D. PERSONAL DUEL: The Norse would challenge either other on any affront to their Honor. The challenge can not be refused. Weapons style must be the same for both fighters. The person being challenged may choose the weapon style. Anyone may challenge a fellow wolf to a Personal Duel. However, at Realm practice, you can make no more than one Challenge. We don't want to tie up Realm Practice with Norse Bragging rights. However we, as a unit, can meet at night on Some Saturdays or Sundays to fulfil any Duels.

A Personal Duel must be either the Norse Duel, an Einvigi or a Ship duel. The challenger chooses. The challenge must be loud enough for the entire populous to hear and should be embellished (but not truly insulting) For instance:

"I Konradr Greywolf challenge Oddvar the Terrible to a ships Duel for he has offended my Norse nostrils with his stench of Old Spice when I told him to wear Mennon Musk!"

to which Oddvar would respond something like:

"I, Oddvar the Terrible, Accept this challenge and we shall fight with spears and I shall grapple with Konradr and show him the true benefits of Old Spice!"

Private duels should not be private affairs. The shipmaster and packleader should be in attendance and mark down who challenged who and the outcome in the scroll of Norse deeds. Also spectators should be present to Boo and stone anyone stepping off the hide, out of the circle or drowning off the ship's side.

What say you all to these ammendments?

Konradr

BREAKING A TIE VOTE:

When a vote is called for by either myself or Oddvar, such as for someone wishing to become a member (all extant members will vote yay or nay) and the vote is a tie. Either side may call for a 'Norse Duel' to settle the tie. A champion for both sides will be chosen to fight the duel and that will decide the vote.

Example:

Hagar the Horrible walks up and wishes to join the War Wolves.

Konradr calls for a vote of the extent membership (Oddvar and Templar) If not all members are present the vote may have to wait til missing members can be texted, PM"d or called.

Konradr says "My vote is Nay. Hagar is a cartoon character and is thus unreliable on the field." Konradr as shipmaster has 3 votes so that is 3 against.

Oddvar says "Yeah, he is, but he's so cool, ya gotta love it. I vote aye." Oddvar as Packleader has 2 votes so that is 3 against and 2 for.

Templar scratches his chin and thinks. "Well, I got to go with Oddvar with this one. Hagar is an iconic Viking character and his prescence in the unit would be good for promotional aspects. I vote aye." Templar as a Wolf Brother has 1 vote.

The vote is now tied 3 for and 3 against. Oddvar calls for a Norse Duel to decide. Konradr will be the champion for the Nay vote and either Oddvar or Templar will champion the yes vote. Whomever wins will decide wether Hagar goes back to the sunday paper or becomes comic relief for the Wovles.

NOTE: The official language for a vote is your name and then either AYE for yes, or NAY for no.

Konradr

I have a drinking horn.

I've always liked this picture. Ah, the fair Raven's Wind, awaiting the tide....



Konradr

nice pic.
lol all I see is a logo.

there ya go. Had to rehost the image. Angelfire are d-bags when it comes to picture sharing.

link: https://2img.net/h/i97.photobucket.com/albums/l237/evilncarnate/20.jpg

Thx Knubbs!

Historical talk on a wolfs head "Draco" (windsock) type standard that I was originally going for...

http://www.allempires.com/Forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=16760



Konradr

I wish I had $250. This wolf vest is cool.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/17577418/last-one-hand-made-stylish-and

Konradr

so have you made it to you are true to that unit and only that unit cause i was told to believe it was open cause i wanted to join but i for one stick to the back lions first...

Hey! I found actual Wolf face and Wolf Tail's for sale here:http://www.nighthawkcreations.com/wsn/furs.html Its about half way down the page. I really want to replace the fox face and tail. These are $75 dollars each. Hmmmmm.....

Here's some actual wolf pelts from Canada, these one's aren't the best, but are all affordable being $125 to $135 from Moscow fur company.
http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/74800216.html

http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/74800830.html

http://www.hideandfur.com/inventory/74800215.html

Konradr

BAD ASS kONRADR. Reminds me of an episode of south park when I started reading it though lol.. yea you guys know what im talking about ha.. GOOD luck bud!

The War Wolves Forum topic should be up and viewable to all War Wolves.

When you Log on, War Wolf Brothers should see the new forum topic at the bottom. Thx to Knubbs the Royal Scribe for his expertise on setting that up. Huzzah!

This topic will remain in place for general discussion or dissemination of information pertaining to the War Wolves and the Realm.

Konradr

I am updating the War Wolf Codex to call it the War Wolves Charter.

In addition I am adding the power of VETO to myself, the Shipmaster, and Oddvar, the Pack Leader. The War Wolves are a Norse Brotherhood. We will vote on issues of importance; however, Oddvar and I will make the final decisions and if neccessary will Veto any vote we think is detrimental to the unit and what its charter stands for. We will not do so lightly, we will discuss our concerns with the Wolves at large.

Oddvar and I will vote on a Veto issue. If we are deadlocked on a veto issue, I, as Shipmaster, researve the right to bring the matter before the Adunakhor and ask him to listen to both arguments from myself and my Pack Leader on the Veto issue and then to make the deciding vote on behalf of the War Wolves.

Konradr

Wolf Blood Fellowship.

I've been giving alot of thought to this issue of other members from other Realm units wanting to join the War Wolves. After discussion with my fellow Wolf Brothers, including the Pack Leader on the topic, the War Wolves are open to anyone, upon a vote of the Brothers.

However, two issues still bother me, though they don't seem to bother my other members. One issue is loyalty and the unit Charter. It clearly states that the Brothers always fight for eachother when in a unit battle. War Wolves do not run or leave the field when another brother is in a fight, no matter the odds. However if a member belongs to another realm unit and that unit is facing the War Wolves, it leads to a problem of loyalty. If you don't fight with the Wolves, you are breaking the unit Creed.

The other issue is of Alliance. The War Wolves are Allied with all units in the Realm during any Realm battle or Unit battle when beyond the Realm. A member of another unit who joins the War Wolves, does not in itself merit an automatic alliance with that unit. Alliances are for myself or the pack leader to make or break as the situation demands.

Therefore I asked my Brothers what they thought of adding a "Blood Brother Fellowship" to the Charter. Both have said it was a good idea.

The Basic outline is that the Blood Brothers are members who belong to other units. The only part of the Creed they must follow is to not be a douchbag. Also, whenever they are fighting as a Wolf, they must be loyal to the Wolves, otherwise it is understood that their main loyalty is to whatever other unit they belong to.

The stipulations are that Blood Brothers can Earn the Sash by fighting the Wolf. They can earn any of the Rank Level's and Challenges within the charter the same way a Wolf Brother does. If a blood brother belongs to another unit and that unit and the Wolves are to fight, the brother is excused to fight with his other unit without any issues of loyalty. The Blood Brother is always welcome to fight with the Wolves.

Blood Brothers will be allowed to vote on many of the War Wolf issues, except any that I or the Pack Leader deem unit exclusive.

As with Wolf Brothers, Blood Brothers who act like a douchbag, depending on the offending issue, may have to perform "Pennance" or may be voted out of the unit and stripped of the Sash.

Konradr

Tabard for the War Wolves....

Red trim is optional. The shoulders are fur or Felt, can be any color. Rabbit fur is cheap. The slash marks are earned.



Konradr

Revamping the Einvigi (Personal Duel)...

As you remember, the einvigi is the duel whereby both parties, fighting blue and shield of equal types, stand in a circle and trade blows rather than a normal fight.

This is based on Historical fact; however I feel the fight, as me and Oddvar and Sasquatch tested it several practices ago, wasn't quite right.

Me, oddvar, and Sasquatch are rougly equal in fighting. (Though honestly, Oddvar has excellent all round hand eye coordination and movements and Sasquatch's skills are getting so much better than mine) However when me and Taco discussed the Einvigi, I could see his point that its not really a challenge for him. In such a close circle, his height and speed would probably be unbeatable.

So, rereading the historical text and rethinking the process I'd like to revamp it.

Based on History, the Einvigi is a personal challenge that must be answered or a Norse warrior would be labled a Nith (a Coward). This remains the case.

Based on History, the Einvigi is fight whereby the contestants are equally armed and trade blows. Ie, one man attacks, one man defends, then they reset and switch rolls. This remains the same however, maybe this modification.

We said an attacker's full attack meant any movements, including a step closer or to the left/right of his opponant, any number of feints and then a hit. The hit being to the opponants strike areas, or a shot blocked by his shield. Once the hit is made, the attacker pulls his weapon back into a 'guard' position and that ends his part of the round and the defender then becomes the attacker.

When Oddvar and I practiced we did each round slowly. Move/strike/reset, then the defender with a second or two in between (as if you had to wait for the command to 'lay on' between alternating strikes) When Oddvar and Sasquatch did it, they sped it up a bit by stating the defender merely had to wait for the attacker to reset his guard then could throw his own shot. These movements were faster and both did very well. I had trouble with that, in that I got confused as to when my turn was.

Should we slow the attack turn down to a few seconds (as if waiting for 'lay on' between shots) or keep it to where the fighters judge when the other has reset?

The circle will be enlarged. Maybe 3 feet per fighter? say a 6 foot circle? I want to allow the fighters to be able to take a step in attack, but also to take a step in any direction in defence as well. What do you think? Instead of making them imobile, the attacker and defender can now move about their side of the circle until the shot is thrown.

If a fighter steps out of the circle with one foot, he is booed and hissed by the crowd as Nithing (retreating, showing cowardice) and rocks may be thrown at him.

If a fighter steps out of the circle with both feet, he looses the duel and is marked with shame. This fighter must serve a pennance decided by vote of his War Wolf brothers (If he is a War Wolf or a Wolf Blood brother) If not a War Wolf, he is merely jeered and made fun of and has rocks thrown at the family jewels.

The other major difference in the historical Einvigi duel, is 3 shields. The dueling shield was not meant to last up to much punishment. The shield would eventually break/shatter. Thus each fighter was given three shields. When one broke, his opponant would allow him to pick up another. Once all three were broke, it was single weapon from then on.

In our version, we don't have shield breakage. We are not using Reds. So how do I incorporate shield breakage into the Einvigi so that One opponant or the other will soon be shieldless???

One idea: After every 3 rounds have the duelers or a herald roll 1D6 for each fighter. The opposing fighter calls out a number between 1 and 6 and if that number is rolled, his opponant looses his shield for the rest of the duel???

Another Idea: After 9 rounds, both opponants automatically loose their shields and must fight single blue??

Any other ideas on this shield loss question??

All other rules for Einvigi to remain the same. I would like to practice some Einvigi at the next practice. I will bring rope. Templar, bring your rocks for crowd participation.

What do you guys think about these possible changes?

Konradr

Welcome our newest War Wolf (Probationary) K'urn.

Bodulfar!

Konradr

Should we dress like this guys....?



Here's the link to how they make their werewolve costumes.

http://www.runningwolfpack.com/how_we.html

Konradr

lol thats funny im will pay to see you come out like that!!!

Here is the Oath for the Blood Brother Fellowship. What do you guys think?

OATH OF FELLOWSHIP

I_______(name)__________ Swear in blood, that I will uphold the spirit of the War Wolves in my conduct and deeds for as long as I remain a War Wolf Blood Brother. I will fight for glory and honor, for riches and fame, but above all else, for the Honor of being in Fellowship with the War Wolves of Barad'Dun.

May I be shunned by my Blood Brothers, the War Wolves, my own Unit, the_____________, and Banished from this Glorious Realm if ever I break this Oath for any reason.

Praise be to the Gods, to Our War Wolf Fellowship and to Barad’Dun.

Sign thy name________________________________________

Place your Mark below:


Konradr

Norse encampment.............





Especially in unfriendly or foreign parts, the encampment would be on shore or along a riverside. The ship would be beached behind them and easily accessible for a hasty departure. Around the camp/ship site they would erect either an earhern berm rampart or a wooden palisade of palings. 'abatis logs' (?) ( logs with wooded spikes carved by axes) would be place in front of these.

In any encampment that would become permanent, you would find either tents that have short stone or earth walls in their construction (Wool tent tops) or long houses of wood or turf. In this kind of encampment you would find wooden palisades on top of earth berms.

Encampments, especially the more permanant ones, would have an area devoted to the Norse Gods. Here you would have wooden efigy's of the Gods carved and posted. They look like the Viking chess pieces if anyone has ever seen a hneftafl set.

Also individual tents/long houses would often have a sacrifice for the Gods. They place this on a stilted platform above the entrance to the tent/long house. This sacrifice was some animal, horse being the most prized, but cow, pig, wild boar, etc. It was just thrown up there and allowed to rot.

Konradr

Good article on "Period" type Norse Encampment. However, we are Dagorhir, so lets just do as much as we individually want to make it look right, based on our personal tastes and budgets. Lots of Leather, Wool , felt and Fur couldn't hurt. And remember to think "Gray".

http://www.welandsmithy.com/re-enactment.html

Konradr

Oddvar! We need to get the ship ready for sea! Get the carpenters to work. Order barrels of pitch resin tar and horse hair to caulk the ship's planks with. She must be ready to sail to SamHain!

Isn't there a celebration to go along with this duty? Don't we make the lads drink a horn of Mead or Ale and have them try to climb a tarred flagpole in their skinnies???

Something like this, but with a wolf skull at the top?



Konradr