Meet the Iconics: Hakon

Thursday, July 10, 2014


Illustration by Wayne Reynolds

Past the Ironbound Archipelago, across the Steaming Sea, lies the Broken Bay, haven of scoundrels, raiders, cutthroats, and killers in the bloodiest viking traditions of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. As a youth, Hakon waited impatiently to come of age and join the seasonal southern raids of his countrymen, eagerly absorbing the tales of distant lands they brought back with the plunder. The proud raiders boasted of desperate battles at sea, of ceaseless storms and sea monsters and foreign towns cloaked in sheets of cascading flames. Hakon committed these stories to memory, adding his own embellishments to create an oral history for his people—vowing to one day make a place for himself within it.

Key to Hakon's youthful mythology was Hrolf Harfargr, one of the few honorable huscarls of Broken Bay's despicable King Ingimundr the Unruly. Hakon's account of Harfargr's victory over the ice troll Rimeclaw became something of a phenomenon in the Bay's capital settlement of Bildt. Other skalds tried to outdo Hakon's telling, adding ever more fantastic feats to the story, increasing Harfargr's reputation and influence. Nevertheless, even the embellishments acknowledged the original tale as Hakon's as much as that of Hrolf Harfargr, and the young storyteller became a minor celebrity in Broken Bay. When he turned 15 later that year, Harfargr claimed him for his crew and appointed Hakon as his personal lorekeeper and legend-spinner.

Hakon composed epic poems of Hrolf Harfargr's encounter with the brine dragon Kelizar, his crushing victory at sea over Styrbjorn Threefingers, and his romance with his greatest rival, the viking hero White Estrid. Hakon stood beside the two lovers as Harfargr and his men joined forces with Estrid on her legendary run through a Chelish blockade at the Arch of Aroden to find harbor in the distant city of Absalom, at the heart of the Inner Sea. On that months-long journey, Hakon recorded the tales of heroes like White Estrid, Runewulf the Unbeliever, Molgard Swordhand, and the twins Bolgi and Bjarni, slayers of the frost wolf Kuldnir.

To keep the memories fresh in his mind, Hakon embroidered representations of the stories into cloth badges sewn along the hem of his long coat. As he moved from badge to badge, Hakon added to the legend of his shipmates, who looked on in excitement with each of his tellings. The smiles and encouragement of heroes stung Hakon in his heart, however, and what should have been pride was instead replaced with regret and shame. For Hrolf Harfargr intended that his personal skald would survive to tell his legend, and thus kept Hakon as far from danger as possible. Over the years of his time in service to White Estrid, Hakon observed the great deeds of heroes triumphing over enemies again and again, but always as a witness, and never as the participant he so wanted to be.

Upon their return to the Lands of the Linnorm Kings from the extended Absalom expedition, White Estrid and Hrolf Harfargr had a falling out that separated Hakon from the band of heroes that had so inspired his imagination. As Estrid and her crew went on to defeat a linnorm dragon and claim the kingdom of Halgrim, Hakon followed Hrolf Harfargr back to the Broken Bay. Over the next several years, Hakon watched as Harfargr's legend faded. King Ingimundr openly undermined him and tempted the fading lord to strike against him. The final humiliation sentenced Harfargr to serve upon the crew of a longship captained by a spiteful viking named Girt Bearwearer, a hated enemy. Worse, the king ordered Harfargr to sea without his official lorekeeper and the recorder of his legendry deeds. Instead, Ingimundr assigned Hakon's younger brother, Ostog, to his place at the oars.

Hrolf Harfargr, Ostog, and Hakon's old companions Bolgi and Bjarni set out on Girt Bearwearer's ship among a great armada of raiders with hungry eyes on the rich lands of the distant south. They never returned to the Broken Bay, but soon stories made their way to Hakon of a mutiny at sea in which Hrolf Harfargr and his allies attempted to take the longship from its wicked captain. Their heroism was rewarded with sword thrusts and blood eagles. A victorious Bearwearer had his slain enemies thrown overboard, food for sea birds and the ravenous beasts of the deep.

But other stories made their way back to Bildt, too. Tales of a brash young warrior named Ostog the Unslain, a survivor of treachery at sea who somehow washed ashore in the Varisian town of Sandpoint and who immediately set about creating a legend of his own. Hakon had to know if the tales of Ostog's distant deeds were true, so he set off on a ship of his own to Sandpoint in an attempt to reunite with his brother. He arrived only to find Ostog had already departed, leaving behind him the mangled corpses of twisted monsters and wicked men. Hakon began work on a new series of badges for his coat in Sandpoint—the Saga of Ostog the Unslain.

Hakon and a band of companions followed Ostog all the way down Avistan's western coast, tracing his brother's footsteps in the drying blood of the young barbarian's dismembered enemies. His travels took him into the deepest deserts of Osirion, back to Absalom, and to a dozen ports in between. Though Hakon has not yet caught up with Ostog, the skald's journeys have brought him his own measure of renown. In Nisroch he slew the dark druid Roverud. His twin axes—Hagrum's Keel and Limbrender—struck down the marsh giant Fogulnur, gaining Hakon the legendary Horn of Valenhall, a mystical artifact he only partially understands. Tales of these victories fill his companions with unparalleled battle spirit and combat prowess, further cementing Hakon's growing legend. Now the badges of Hakon's own exploits stand beside those of the true heroes of the Broken Bay, but the skald knows that his journeys must continue until his deeds shine like those of Hrolf Harfargr, White Estrid, and Ostog the Unslain. Only then will the Saga of Hakon be complete, daring those who come after him to even greater feats of bravery and legend.

Erik Mona
Publisher

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Tags: Iconics Meet the Iconics Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Skald Wayne Reynolds
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Finally an Ulfen, the best human ethnic group in all of Golarion

Both Hakon and Lem would make a killing as a traveling bardic duo

suck it Taldans and Chelaxians


Kudaku wrote:
Torbyne wrote:
Kudaku wrote:

All Ulfen people are born with small and compact feet. It's an evolutionary response to their chilly natural habitat, it helps stave off frostbite.

This is actually paralleled in modern-day Scandinavians! Go ask a Norwegian what shoe size he wears, odds are excellent that he won't wear anything larger than a 6.

** spoiler omitted **

I went ahead and googled this. Didnt find an answer but did find a lot of cool stuff on scandinavian folklore. So, thank you?

Anytime!

Did you know all Norwegian boys are sent to Svalbard at the age of sixteen to single-handedly stalk, kill, and skin their first seal? Returning home and presenting the seal skin to your clan is an important rite of manhood and a big part of the reason why Norwegians are still involved in sealing.

LOL!

And we have ice bears walking the streets in Stockholm. Problematic because they tend to steel our food that we keep out on the windowsills and courtyards due to the cold outside. It is also the reason why it is legal to shoot them from the window if you live in rural areas.
I’ve shoot a couple myself. We don’t eat the meat, but the fur is nice.


Zark wrote:


And we have ice bears walking the streets in Stockholm. Problematic because they tend to steel our food that we keep out on the windowsills and courtyards due to the cold outside. It is also the reason why it is legal to shoot them from the window if you live in rural areas.
I’ve shoot a couple myself. We don’t eat the meat, but the fur is nice.

Careful, don't want to have PETA converging on your house en masse to pelt it with buckets of red paint or whatever crazy shit they do these days.

Or random people on Facebook telling you you're horrible for killing an animal and not even eating it.


Awe maan, my bard Ostog just died the other night :(


Rynjin wrote:
Zark wrote:


And we have ice bears walking the streets in Stockholm. Problematic because they tend to steel our food that we keep out on the windowsills and courtyards due to the cold outside. It is also the reason why it is legal to shoot them from the window if you live in rural areas.
I’ve shoot a couple myself. We don’t eat the meat, but the fur is nice.

Careful, don't want to have PETA converging on your house en masse to pelt it with buckets of red paint or whatever crazy s$!# they do these days.

Or random people on Facebook telling you you're horrible for killing an animal and not even eating it.

Let's hope they understand it was a joke, because if it isn't the ice bears will get them Before I do :P


Zark wrote:
Rynjin wrote:
Zark wrote:


And we have ice bears walking the streets in Stockholm. Problematic because they tend to steel our food that we keep out on the windowsills and courtyards due to the cold outside. It is also the reason why it is legal to shoot them from the window if you live in rural areas.
I’ve shoot a couple myself. We don’t eat the meat, but the fur is nice.

Careful, don't want to have PETA converging on your house en masse to pelt it with buckets of red paint or whatever crazy s$!# they do these days.

Or random people on Facebook telling you you're horrible for killing an animal and not even eating it.

Let's hope they understand it was a joke, because if it isn't the ice bears will get them Before I do :P

So it would be okay if I sent them your way with advice to hug the bears to force people to be nice and be rid of the crosshairs?


5 people marked this as a favorite.
Zark wrote:
Let's hope they understand it was a joke, because if it isn't the ice bears will get them Before I do :P

Ahem.


MagusJanus wrote:


So it would be okay if I sent them your way with advice to hug the bears to force people to be nice and be rid of the crosshairs?

If they want to hug bears they will have a hard time doing it.

But sure, send them to Stockholm on a Bear hunt.


Zark wrote:
Kudaku wrote:
Torbyne wrote:
Kudaku wrote:

All Ulfen people are born with small and compact feet. It's an evolutionary response to their chilly natural habitat, it helps stave off frostbite.

This is actually paralleled in modern-day Scandinavians! Go ask a Norwegian what shoe size he wears, odds are excellent that he won't wear anything larger than a 6.

** spoiler omitted **

I went ahead and googled this. Didnt find an answer but did find a lot of cool stuff on scandinavian folklore. So, thank you?

Anytime!

Did you know all Norwegian boys are sent to Svalbard at the age of sixteen to single-handedly stalk, kill, and skin their first seal? Returning home and presenting the seal skin to your clan is an important rite of manhood and a big part of the reason why Norwegians are still involved in sealing.

LOL!

And we have ice bears walking the streets in Stockholm. Problematic because they tend to steel our food that we keep out on the windowsills and courtyards due to the cold outside. It is also the reason why it is legal to shoot them from the window if you live in rural areas.
I’ve shoot a couple myself. We don’t eat the meat, but the fur is nice.

Wait, you guys don't ride bears over there? If you come to Alaska, we'll teach you how. Why do you think Russia was so invested in Alaska? Once they all learned how to ride bears, they sold it to the US because they knew the rest of the US was too warm to ride bears into battle.


Kudaku wrote:
Zark wrote:
Let's hope they understand it was a joke, because if it isn't the ice bears will get them Before I do :P
Ahem.

I just what?!?


I have long maintained that a D&D campaign should feel like a Dragonforce album. I'm glad Pathfinder is catching up.


GentleGiant wrote:
Oceanshieldwolf wrote:
Haven't seen someone blood-eagle'd since reading Slaine. There is never enough ritual torture involving separating the ribs from the spine in this blog.
In that case, and without giving away too many spoilers, I can recommend the show Vikings on History Channel. ;-)

Disney needs to cast Kathryn Winnick as Ms. Marvel Capt. Marvel NOW.

And on a game related note - the Skald looks badass. I was originally kinda 'meh' on both the Skald and the Bloodrager, but now I want to play one of each and soon.


So this guy can join Harsk the Dwarfen Ranger in the very exclusive club of "Iconic Characters who apparently soloed monsters that would take them way past level 2 in XP before while still at level 1".

The iconic's tales have been awesome, and I really enjoy reading them, but some really strain credibility of what a 1st-level (or pre-1st-level) character ought to be able to do w/o major divine intervention.

So... is this Gameplay/Story Segregation or is it that some of the iconics backstories extend past 1st level?

Liberty's Edge

It's more the latter. Iconics are not necessarily 1st level characters, indeed, they're sorta 'Schrodinger's Characters' being every level simultaneously.

Also, Hakon tagged along and recorded things rather than actively participating for the most part, I think you could do everything in his backstory at 1st with some lucky rolls. Harsk is another matter, of course...


Hakon and Ostag need to get into a story somewhere (and not just my campaigns). Comics, Wayfinder, or even a blurb or mention in the novels or e-books would be sweet! Thank you Pathfinder for another travelling viking badass!

Paizo Employee Publisher, Chief Creative Officer

Thanks, Kuro! Ostog is going to make a cameo appearance in the next run of Pathfinder comics, but as of yet it's simply a background cameo. Surely that is not enough to hold his ego down, however, so one never knows where he might pop up next!

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