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would the splicer humans use styriatypical viking-style headgear in charges against the machine?
maybe their warsuits could use something simaler for the same effect?

Abe,
Speaking only for myself, I tend to look at aesthetics based on functionality. So head gear would be based on what function(s) I needed to fulfill in the field and battlefield against the Machines as a primary function, with Blood-feuds and alien predator threats as a secondary functionality. So with that being said I would not want to necessarily puncture and gore machines to the point that the metal & plating was stuck to my helmet if I rammed it.

Machines aren’t like living things that would be affected from a goring and preoccupied with pain, trauma and trying to free itself. Machines could continue to blast you while stuck to your helmet, rip into you and then there is always the nanobot plague if it reacts to you (its close range to your head). Never a good thing. Should you opt to puncture, slash or gore machines with your helmet weaponry, you would want something that isn’t going to hook them. You would hopefully seek something that you could rip them free from your horns to deliver more damage and be easily free of their mechanical threats & retaliation. You certainly don’t want to end up with metal fragments all over you and your Host Armor/War mount in return. Rhino styled horns would be good, however I would prefer the crest and horn assortment of something like a Styracosaurus. It can deliver damage via charge attack or side-ways swipe, plus it offers defensive protection against melee and projectiles. It also could be easier to moving forward through the brush without getting caught up on everything. It’s not going to be the quietest, but rarely will any horn assortment be outside of linear aligned rhino styled horns. Viking assortments simply have hooking horns that could secure and snag things and this should be seriously considered.

Besides the stereotypical Viking helmets were never used by Vikings. Where the heck did those stupid horned skull caps come from anyway? Da Orks, goin ta WAAAaaagggghhh wit dem pointy bits an da shootah wit da boys.

Most viking helmets were pretty standard smooth helmets protecting the head/back of the neck and often some cover for the eyes. Most of the horned helmets you see were things from operas and plays and had nothing to do with actual vikings.

That said we know there are weird cultural enclaves established by certain aspects of the machine so its very possible there is a norse village somewhere and those who join the rebellion from that group may just grow their bio armor with some vague viking appearances.

well I did say styatypical viking helmets didn't I?

THAT would be awesome. Brigandine coats/capes grown from the hoast armor. Axes, swords, berserkr

Granted ghille suit capes that extend from a furry collar into a full cape would be cool too, but that's Scottish.

Hopplite skirts
Phalanx tower shields
Japanese kozane with kobuto and mengu

yes you did, but unlike other stereotypes which may hold true for a portion of the substrata the "stereotypical" Viking helmet is an utter fallacy.

Ya just had to go and find a way to inspire me from something I would have easily waved off.
Now I am envisioning some Retro village in the Northern Islands along the Victorian coastline, near the Barren Sea, that has been abandoned by NEXUS support and discover by the Tundra Dwellers. Years later the first hard core cadre surfaces (thinking Pathfinder & Spartans meets Splicers.) Massive War mounts that are a mixture of moose, elk, and polar bears for the Beast Guard, Grizzly brownies, Shark and river otter fused with alien for the amphibious Warmounts, Seige Boar tanks, Ivory Draconian Wolves for aerial mounts......

Sheeeshhhhh Kaid, Thanks a lot.

Just think you can have fun with the 8 legged Sleipnir mega horse models and seedling habitats that eventually transform into the midgaard serpent to eat the bones of the world out from under the machine!

Hmm, Yggdrasil colonies instead of caverns. That are tree and octopus and other animals so defends itself.

I can’t believe you creative geniuses are actually taking this into such a cool, inspirational vision, a Great House of Asgard!!!!!

Just shooting from the hip I see so… many possibilities:

1. The Altars - Each Dreadguard among the House Senate is based off a Norse deity
2. Vikings being the Roughnecks
3. Specialized Archangels being the Valkyrie
4. Elvenar could be Sleek, attractive styled Biotics who are given a chance to atone themselves through their duties to be allowed to enter into the Midgard sanctuaries (the beer parts of the havens).
5. Haminja could be Metamorph Biotics with new forms.
6. Jotnar could be large “Giant” sized Host Armor-Warmounts piloted by specialized Outriders, that pilot these units from within.

Warmounts
1. The Falconer OCC utilizing Ravens (Huginn & Munnin).
2. Giant Northern Snow Eagles as Warmounts based off of the majestic Hraesvelgr.
3. Really…. like the Sleipner concept Kaid!!! These could make for great steeds of the elite cavalry. For speed, lighter built eight leg stags (Duneyrr) could be used for Scouts.
4. Ratatoskr (flying squirrels) as messengers, sort of like messenger pigeons.
5. Tundra Wolves, Garmr & Vargs/Wargs for the Packmasters.
6. Fenrir as ground Squadron Warmounts.
7. Hafgufa could be similar to Krakens, but much smaller, more like submarine versions. You are hitting these right on the nail Zero Kay!!!
8. Heiðrún could be specialized livestock goats that provide a “mead” food resource that gives more nutrition, carbs, energy and overall sustenance that last longer than normal consumptions. Works very well in such harsh climates and extended hours in the field, to have fed on these herd animals first.
9. The battle suid known as Hildisvíni would make for some nice tank like Warmounts.
10. Wyvern are certainly in this Great House.
11. Borrowing Seedling Serpents consuming the world from below... Kaid, whew, truly dreadful to imagine. This Great House could be the first to have a Haven Eater.

altars? did you perhaps mean aesir? (pretty sure there's supposed to be a symbol above one of those vowels, but I'm not sure what symbol and don't know the ascii code for it anyways).

most likely the ceremonial skullcaps of the ancient germanic and Celtic tribes in the bronze age
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/c ... helmet.jpg
http://vikingschoolvisits.com/wp-conten ... elmets.jpg
http://www.hurstwic.org/history/article ... _vikso.jpg

given the other artifacts found in the gravesites, these individuals were either priests or other individuals of religious importance.

however when these were found and the 'ram-horned vikings' image was being created, archeology was still pretty primitive, so many of these got mistaken for Norse.. (because they were being found in places like denmark, norway, and parts of england the vikings had settled.. they were just not recognized as being as old as they were.)

it didn't help that the Gauls of roman times did like to put short pointy horn bits on their helmets for special occassions.. roman descriptions of the gauls often included unrelated tribes much farther north which may have been the ancestors of the norse, and probably caused a lot of confusion for those looking for details on the norse in the days before sytematic history and archeology became a thing

On a funny aside with as broken as the machine is I wonder if it is possible it winds up setting up one of these enclaves based on "historical" documents which wind up being some fictional movie version of how things were. This could wind up with some really story line stuff if people run into the shire filled with genetically modified shrunken humans.

Ah, great now we have the makings of a proper Splicers Asgard. Premier, if you are making this, take all the ideas and hold on to them for later. Those chimera mounts sound great, just don't overwork yourself.

PB should allow freelancer unsolicited submission of House sourcebooks the size of the RT1e supplements like the advanced training, zentradi or the dreaded Lancer's Rockers (drums anyone?) books where they were smaller than a Rifter. Each house book covering a couple small houses or one large one and always trying to make it from a single author.

So would it be the aesir or Asgard for the house? If it is Asgard is there then should there be nine houses:
Midgard
Asgard
Vanaheimr
Utgard
Alfheim
Hel
Nidavellir
Niflheim
Muspelheim
Either all connected by the Giant Yggdrasil which allows for rapid transit between the nine houses or maybe Yggdrasil is soooo large that the nine houses are built IN in. Yggdrasil a giant bio beast the size of an island large enough to contain all of the houses. A mobile island that roams the northern sea with a massive tree shaped growth on top that is somehow equipped to defend the island. The "land" extends from the lower section of the trunk. Below the island the "roots" extend into the water and protect the island from below AND provide the island with propulsion.

Though the houses aren't officially allied they are by far less aggressive toward each other than their wider spread mainland cousins who aren't dependant on a single entities wellbeing. Maybe each house is assigned an area of expertise/specialty.

not all of those though are part fo the same thing..

norse cosmology had the universe divided up into 3 levels.
at the top were:
Asgard = home of the Aesir (odin, thor, etc, the gods of strength and battle)
Vanaheim = home of the Vanir (frigg, freya, etc.. the gods of wisdom, fertility, and knowledge.)
Alfheim = home of the elves.. specifically the Ljósálf (light elves), rarely mentioned

in the middle were
Midgard (where humans dwell)
Jotunheim, the home of the Giants.
Svartalfheim, the home of the Dark Elves/Nidavellir, the home of the Dwarfs. (these seem to be two names for the same place, and the difference between a dark/swarthy elf and a dwarf is unknown, since while usually one or the other is used, sometimes both got mentioned in same source)

at the bottom is
Niflheim is to the north, somewhere in Niflheim under the ground is Helheim home of the dead.
Muspelheim is to the south, it is the home of the fire Giants and Demons.
with Ginnungagap in between.. an expanse of desolation and mists.

Then why is there 9 worlds listed being connected by Yggdrasil. Nevermind that it wouldn't matter as they'd be houses anyway loosely based on norse mythology. So even if they are different realms within a world it doesn't matter.

Actually those divisions even work out with the upper living in the trunk the middle living on the land and the lower living in the land

yggdrasil is the world tree supporting each of the three levels. there are 3 parts to each level. thus "nine worlds". the worlds part comes from more modern wording.. the original was more like '9 kingdoms' or '9 lands'

That is just missapropriation of word like the saying raca in Matthew means fool therefore contradicting the other uses of fool throughout scripture when it is the only time the word is used and should be 'worthless' as in call no one worthless. Wile calling someone foolish just means that they are without wisdom or exercise wisdom poorly.

So it should be 9 kingdoms in 3 worlds... What shares with fire and ice? Hel?

Thanks for the lesson though

any other mythologys that could work on simaler models?

Honestly given how the machine as setup small retro villages capturing various idealized time periods and enforce the culture/behavior/dress of those areas it would almost be more surprising if you did not see an assortment of mythological influences show up in various different houses bio gear. Heck look at ancient egypt most of their gods are animal headed giant people and that sort of look would be very easy to accomplish with bio armors with minimal shaping to capture that look.

It's funny that this has come up... let me introduce you to a little project I've been working on for a while now... House Ragnarok.

House Ragnarok is more of a collection of Splicer Clans based in the Northern Mountains, far from the main Houses of the Resistance. Within the Mountains are a series of valleys and highlands where the main Clans are based.

At the center of the valleys is the Yggdrasil Nature Preserve, one of the largest in the world... and virtually unknown to the outside world due to the fact that it is so isolated. It is an oasis of perpetual spring in an environment where winter lasts almost half the year.

To the south of the Preserve is the vast boneyard known as Helheim which marks the border with the Machine Complex known as Musphelheim. Musphelheim is built to fill the main pass into the valleys and was situated there to take advantage of the raw mineral wealth of the Northern Mountains... allowing the Machine access to the raw materials it needs to build machines to send to other complexes around the world.

The various Retro-Villages set up within the valleys are collectively known as Midgard to both the Machine and the Resistance in the area. Most inhabitants appear to be of Northern European stock, though there are a few examples of other ethnic groupings (most likely from travelers who have stumbled upon lesser known passes and found their way into the villages but were unable to leave).

The two main Clans the area are the Aesir and the Vanir... each based in their own hidden Seedling fortresses (Asguard and Vanaheim). These two clans formed an alliance a generation ago to fight a third clan, Clan Jotun that had been forcibly converting people from the Midgard retro villages into biotics and other monstrous warriors with their splicer-tech. It is believed that Clan Jotun was completely destroyed, though at least one Librarian was captured by House Aesir. The alliance between the Aesir and the Vanir has remained strong and the two Houses are beginning to merge into one unified resistance movement.

Another smaller clan has recently begun to take a more active hand in fighting the Machine. Clan Alfar has created a encampment high in the canopy of the Yggdrasil Preserve (which they have named Alfheim) and have some of the most advanced Biotech in the area... which they have been slowly trading to House Aesir and Vanir for some time. The fact that they operate within the Preserve gives them access to genetic samples the other Houses find difficult to acquire, which give them a valuable commodity to trade with the other Houses for more refined biotech that is difficult for them to develop. However, a splinter group of the Alfar has broken away and made an alliance with the Gaia personality to keep the Resistance out of the Preserve in exchange for exclusive access to its wealth of genetic samples. This splinter group calls itself the Svartalfar and have create their own realm (Svartalfheim) in the volcanic caverns that run under the preserve (and most of the mountain valleys).

The last portion of the resistance is the Technojacker clan known as the Dergar, based in their mountain fortress (old military bunker) of Nidavellir. While they tend to be isolationists, they are firmly against the Machine and will side with the Resistance if asked or needed. Most often though they are only seen when they come to the various villages to test new born and young children for the potential to become Technojackers. The tests are done under very controlled conditions to minimize the risk to those who would trigger a Plague reaction. Even the various Houses have begun to screen new children for the potential and any that are found are given to the Dergar (and the Dergar turn over any children born to them that aren't technojackers to the Resistance or a Retro Village to be raised). While the Rergar and the Resistance rarely work together (for obvious reasons), they do tend to respect each others abilities... but there is an underlying air of pity for the Dergar that makes some Resistance members seem a little arrogant to these technojackers.

Unknown to all, a portion of Clan Jotun survived the blood feud and have hidden themselves in the old service tunnels running under the Helheim Boneyard (they have begun to call these tunnels Jotunheim). Reduced to a single young Genepool (it grew from the only Saint to survive the blood feud) and a handful of other members, they are fed information on both the Aesir and the Vanir from the captured Librarian that now works with the Aesir. Slowly they are rebuilding their forces using the same techniques that lead to the blood feud... abducting people from the retro villages and turning the majority into Biotics and other modified human creations. This time however, they are being more careful and keeping the number of abductions low and spread out so as not to draw attention to themselves just yet. They are also perfecting new warmounts unlike anything the Resistance has yet seen.

A interesting idea would be to create actral Hobbits like from new zeland?

What if the great houses made 8-legged horses for their warriors?

Hello?