Sing your lays and recite your eddas here, fellow Skald!
Reporting for a trip into song and verse.
question though, Neve, uses 2 pools for spellpoints and combined them. Should I do the same?
Dotting for tracking!
Reporting in, I just noticed I share the first name with the skald!
All right, this should have everything in order! ^^
Happy to be picked! But I realized that double-Einaring could be a legitimate risk.
Luckily, Einarr has a nickname: "Eindrið," Norse for "Lone Rider." Thus, while Einarr is my character's given name, and he might introduce himself to NPCs as "Einarr Lawspeaker," he'll also respond to Eindrið (if you're having trouble typing this, "Eindrith" or "Eindrid" are also fine, with "Driði" as a potential nickname if we ever need one).
Hello everyone!
Y'all should learn the secret of the invisible dot.
No, for it is a winding path full of misery and plague.
Note to self: Copy/Paste names more, because there's no way I'm gonna get some of these right otherwise. XD Not until I've played with you for awhile, anyway.
for anyone not particularly aware of old norse, ð is basically a TH sound in english, and you can read it as such.
but yeah some of these names will take a bit. my surname btw basically is "daughter of no one"
Asta, yes, combine the pools.
Posting right quick before a hibachi dinner!
Err... sort of? "þ" is a "th" sound as in "thing" (which is also the Norse word for "parliament"). "ð" is "th" as in "this," and thus could be also read as a "d," depending on accent.
Err... sort of? "þ" is a "th" sound as in "thing" (which is also the Norse word for "parliament"). "ð" is "th" as in "this," and thus could be also read as a "d," depending on accent.
to be clear, at least where I am from, this and thing both have the same starting sound. :P
Posting right quick before a hibachi dinner!
hope it goes well.
...hmm, wacky, I've never heard that particular accent before.
...hmm, wacky, I've never heard that particular accent before.
I'm talking about West Coast American and english 'th', and yes, i've had more than a few talks with people about how we've simplified a lot of word pronunciations. both start with the syllable 'thi' 'this' simply ending with 'ss', with more of an emphasis on that syllable. Same for 'Thing', 'thi-ing' with more of an emphasis on the 2nd syllable.
west coast is way different than most other english, mainly we seem to shorten and simplify almost any word we get our hands on.
:P
ð is definitely the precursor for the english 'th' though, if you're talking about norwegian or swedish on me.
By the way, if anyone has something moderately heavy that they don't want to carry all by themselves, let me know - Neve has access to Extradimensional Storage, which is basically a Bag of Holding that can carry 10 lbs/level, and I'd be happy to make that available to the rest of the party. ^^ It's not so good for quickly retrieving stuff, but it might be a good place to store camp supplies and so on.
@Asta: In American English, "this" and "thing" start with ENTIRELY different sounds (one is an unvoiced dental fricative, this other is voiced). There's a term in phonotactics that I can't remember, but it states that phonemes with different distributions often seem identical to native speakers who aren't familiar with a language that differentiates them.
If you want some examples, though, Wikipedia points out
thy vs. thigh, either vs. ether, and teeth vs. teethe.
Also, actually, þ is the precursor of the English "th" (since it was not used in continental Europe, early printing presses brought to English didn't have a þ key, and as a result people typed "þe" as "ye," leading to phrases like "ye olde").
***
And if someone wants to haul something a little heavier, my mount is encumbered around 1,000 lbs, and can probably carry some extra saddlebags.
@Asta: In American English, "this" and "thing" start with ENTIRELY different sounds (one is an unvoiced dental fricative, this other is voiced). There's a term in phonotactics that I can't remember, but it states that phonemes with different distributions often seem identical to native speakers who aren't familiar with a language that differentiates them.
If you want some examples, though, Wikipedia points out
thy vs. thigh, either vs. ether, and teeth vs. teethe.
that's what i'm saying though, in here on the west coast they're pronounced with the same syllable. :/ at least my tongue and air flow in my mouth appear to be exactly the same.
I can see the difference best with teeth and teethe, but they both feel like they use teethe's to me.
After, doing them slowly I kinda see what you mean though, after reading up on "unvoiced dental fricative" you mean one uses the teeth more and the other is mostly wind. there is a difference but we still kinda use our teeth i think on thing. :P
*i'm enjoying this conversation btw.
I'm going to second Asta about 'this' and 'thing'. Where I'm from, this and thing have virtually identical sounds. It boils down to accent. I'm from Western Canada. It's got less to do with dictionary pronunciation and more to do with accent. If you go East coast vs West coast vs Southern (and everywhere in between), I promise that you're going to find the exact same words said differently and each side claiming they are saying it right.
The other examples work much better for showing the difference between what I call the 'windy' th and the 'toothy v' th.
It's actually funny about that, because British english call tanks Armour, as in armor, I thought that's what tanks were called for the longest time. spelled slightly differently from armor for some reason. but it was just british slang.
also, i find it funny a bit that teeth uses less teeth
Well, armor is just how Americans spell armour. I think armour is used in every other version of English other than American.
Silly Americans and their crazy English.
Well, armor is just how Americans spell armour. I think armour is used in every other version of English other than American.
Silly Americans and their crazy English.
I know that, but I did not as a small child.
Also, I think "Armor" is an appropriate way to refer to tanks. As in "We've deployed Armor to cover the English Channel. You never know what the French are gonna do, and that thing has our name on it."
Not quite!
Where I'm from, this and thing have virtually identical sounds. It boils down to accent. I'm from Western Canada.
That's quite unlikely. They're completely different sounds in standard American, British, and Canadian English. As I've said, if you've never noticed the difference between the two, you might not hear it (a lot of intro linguistics is training yourself to hear specific sounds).
After, doing them slowly I kinda see what you mean though, after reading up on "unvoiced dental fricative" you mean one uses the teeth more and the other is mostly wind.
Nope! One is "voiced," and one is "unvoiced," but that has nothing to do with the shape of your mouth.
at least my tongue and air flow in my mouth appear to be exactly the same.
Yes, they do. "Dental" refers to the position of your tongue, and "fricative" refers to the airflow. "Voiced/unvoiced" refers to the vibration of your vocal cords. If you put your hand on your voicebox and say the two words, you should be able to feel the difference.
(The difference between ð and þ is the exact same as the difference between z and s, b and p, or v and f; because they're represented by the same letter in modern English, it's not as obvious)
I recorded myself saying the letters ð (eth) and þ (thorn) to help illustrate this.
yes both this and thing use the 2nd ;-;, it's all airy and sounds more like blowing than vibration.
to be clear, we barely say the th parts of this and thing, they almost sound like hiss and -ing. I don't know about canadian, but definitely in California we shorten a lot of words down and slurr them comapred to other areas.
like I said, I can hear the difference if I slow down and say it slowly but it feels like a forced sound from the transition from the TH to the S sound.
pre-post edit, I see it now, this uses vocals but thing does not. I noticed it from the ing not really using my throat for the TH(I didn't feel the vibration), yeah, i get it now. it probably just sounds the same because of how we mostly skip that part of the word. XD
bleh, my mouth doesn't like saying Eindrið with that kind of TH it feels forced.
Luckily, "Eindrid" and "Eindrith" are both perfectly acceptable pronunciations/spellings, and would just be indicative of local accents.
My mom's an English teacher and I asked her if I said thing and this with any difference in the 'th' and I simply do not. The and they i say as my 'toothy v' th, but this and thing i say both with the 'windy' th. (Yes, these are terms to help explain it to a child, it's a habit, I work with kids >.>)
I have to place my tongue further forward to duplicate the rougher sound on this.
My mom's an English teacher and I asked her if I said thing and this with any difference in the 'th' and I simply do not. The and they i say as my 'toothy v' th, but this and thing i say both with the 'windy' th. (Yes, these are terms to help explain it to a child, it's a habit, I work with kids >.>)
I have to place my tongue further forward to duplicate the rougher sound on this.
yeah but does the sound come from the throat on both? this has me use my throat, i can feel the vibration, while thing does not.
You put your tongue/mouth in an *identical* position for both, though. It's solely a matter of how your voicebox is vibrating. If you did pronounce the two sounds identically, you'd have a noticeable lisp to most English speaker.
* * *
Meanwhile, since we're in a party together, I figure we can talk a bit more about party roles via Norse Lore. Eindrið, as a Lawspeaker, is somewhat more like Judge Dredd than your average lawyer. Basically, if I get permission/authority from the local Jarl (using the local banner as my cavalier's banner in areas where this is the case), I should be allowed to try and sentence people for their crimes, provided I recite or sing the law in question in an admirable fashion first, giving the party legal authority to do the sort of murderhoboing that's much more excepted in the historical northlands than some other medieval regions. I figure this is how I plan to flavor my Inspired Rage—instead of a typical viking berserker rage, I'm telling everyone "okay, you're legally allowed to use extreme force, don't hold back!" and being blessed in return by the god of justice.
@Neve: Is your druidic magic tied to worship of the new Valar, the old Aesir, or the pre-either shamanist/nature spirits mostly worshipped by the Ulanat?
Oh and since people asked, hibachi was good! We've determined that we will probably eat there every other week so that we can get some chicken hibachi in our lives! After all, $8.50 is the cheapest that I have seen hibachi go for outside of Japan, where it is obviously about the price of a regular meal at around $5.00.
@Eindrið: If I had to say... Neve's probably associated most with the Vanir as a whole, though she doesn't mind paying her respects to the Aesir. (Like many in the North, she doesn't restrict her worship to just one or two figures, believing all are worth respecting and probably shouldn't be angered.) Her abilities are not the typical housewife brand of seidr, and since Asta's already got Divination, Neve won't be copying that like some sort of spá practitioner. XD
The best way to explain it is, mmm... on a functional level, Neve is basically a traveling wise woman, despite her youth - she tells epic tales, mixes medicines, guides lost people, offers advice to those in need, and is generally respected despite not actually being part of any community. When it comes to magic, however, she just does it - she follows no casting tradition, uses no materials, and oftentimes causes major effects (such as changes in the weather) through nothing more than willpower. This was an intentional design choice on my part - she's meant to be seen as someone whose powers are not understood by others, but are likely connected to ancient, hidden lore. ^^
I'm professionally a monster hunter, though I do not shirk off "regular" work if payed enough. Think of it kind of how Witchers act in The Witcher, I have a few bestiaries on monsters and several tools that could be useful at defeating various monsters. She also knows how to treat and dress wounds and in general care for the sick a bit, and has several medical supplies.
My magic comes specifically from my "taint" which appears to be from Fenrir, I don't go around making this knowledge known but in general I fight by using tools or giving into Fenrir's destruction lust. I don't know if the Norse have a "werewolf" but it's basically like that.
@Neve: Sure, I was just wondering if your magic came from a specific deity (or set of deities, in the case of the minor Vanir), since druids as divine casters are usually powered by some sort of prayer (but as you probably already knew actual "druidism" would be unheard of in a Norse setting)
@Asta: "varulf" or "varulfur" would be the Norse term, actually forming the basis for the later Germanic "werewolf." Werewolves are a Norse term in origin, though lycanthropy is Greek; ancient Norse werewolves would be men who could transform into wolves in battle, generally as a result of praying to one specific god, and it was seen as both a magical/religious blessing and curse (since they'd often have trouble turning back again or forgetting their wolfy instincts). Loki, as the OG shapeshifter, would be just the sort of dude to stick you with your "wolf taint" in the first place as a practical joke.
Funny, because I've left how it happened specifically open ended and secondly because I've come to look for inspiration in Loki "they hate you, but they need you". The rest sounds about what I've had it as.
Feeling icky atm will get post up today after I've had something to eat.
Well... Thor would be more likely to turn you into a bear IIRC, and only if you asked for it. A wolf would be most associated with either Loki or Odin, but in the case of Odin you'd probably have to ask specifically to become a werewolf-kin (although praying to Odin for that sort of power usually requires a sacrifice along the lines of cutting off a limb or murdering some heathens, while Loki is less concerned with that sort of thing).
Well yeah, what ever happened, it specifically happened when I was young or born. I don't know who my parents are and the only family I had was a sister who I lost also when I was very young. so, this is definitely not something I asked for XD.
@Eindrið: Neve probably spent some time training before setting off on her own - I haven't nailed down every single detail (in part because I should probably discuss that with our GM, and make sure the concepts all fit within his world), but I'm leaning towards some kind of spirit journey where she proved herself to some (many?) of the Vanir and acquired the secret arts she now practices. She does not actively receive her powers from any deity - her powers are her own.
Waiting on replying so that I can determine whether I need to make a blanket post or more than one reply in the post.
Not a problem TarkXT! I am interested in seeing how Ragnvald plays out in roleplay!
Brynja? Do you have a post?
Neve, just PM me about your background so we can save some space and possibly some spoilers.
I'll probably write up an in-depth story at some point. XD The stuff already approved with her application should be all that's necessary to really run the game, but I'd be happy to throw in some plot hooks if you'd like something to call back to in the future.
I mean, I'm also interested in how my character would introduce the others, and what he'd think about their religious beliefs/status in society, which is why I'm asking these questions. (speaking of, Brynja, what are you a Paladin of? I was originally planning on going Paladin of Tyr with some Boon Companion, but with a full pally in the party I'll probably stick to Order of the Scales)
to be clear, as it may have not been before. while I may be confused for a varulfur my taint or abilities or what ever, come from fenrir, that's all my character knows. Just feel I may have given off the impression that i had been looking for something werewolf-like in norse lore, but I wasn't, I just was simply unaware if werewolf-like beings existed in the world we were in. from the sound of it, mine is slightly more neffarious than normal varulfur.
Sorry! Busy day! Working on a post now!
Sorry! Busy day! Working on a post now!
well, you should be able to do it quickly since your mother is an english teacher. :3
She's a Paladin of no one at the moment. It's something she'll develop and grow into as the game progresses. What it'll grow into is the Norns, specifically the Valkyries. The entire character is inspired by the Valkyries because omg they are the most bad ass ladies ever and because I really liked the Valkyrie Profile games >.>;;
So Odin then lol
Hmm. Do the Valkyries serve the same purpose as the three eponymous Norns, though? I had the feeling they were somewhat different.
(Also, Paladins as divine tend to get their powers from one specific deity, hence the asking, wasn't sure if it would also be Tyr or not. But Odin really isn't the most LG fellow.)
paladins as a class don't specifically require a deity. Also, yeah, aren't the norns the three old ladies that behave like the fates? how are they related to Valkyries? some short google-fu has only yielded that they are tangentially linked in that they're both related to fate.
To the best of my Norse Knowledge, the Norns and the Valkyries have basically no direct connections. The Norns might decide - or at least read - fates, while the Valkyries go and pick warriors to become Einherjar. The Valkyries serve Valhalla, the Norns... not so much.
You could make a decent case for both of them being representatives of Law/Fate, though, and generally supporting that idea.