Asgard Nine Worlds

Asgardians: Norse Gods

 

Character NameIdeals
Balder God of Light
Enchantress Goddess of Sorcery
Executioner Asgardian Warrior
Fafnir King of Nastrond
Fandral Lord of the Sword
Fenris Wolf Monster
Frey God of Rain & Harvest
Frigga Goddess of the Marriage
Geirrodur King of the Rock Trolls
Heimdall Sentry of Asgard & Bifrost
Hela Goddess of Death
Hermod God of Speed
Hoder God of Winter
Hogun God of the Strap
Idunn Goddess of Immortality
Karnilla Queen of Nornheim
Kurse Dark Elf
Loki God of Treachery
Lorelei Goddess of Seduction
Malekith the Accursed Ruler of the Dark Elves
Midgard Serpent World Serpent
Odin Father of the Gods
Sigyn Goddess of Fidelity
Sif Goddess of Hunting
Surtur Monarch of Muspelheim
Thor God of Thunder
Tyr God of War
Ulik Rock Troll
Valkyrie Chooser of the Slain
Vidar God of Vengeance
Volla Prophetess
Volstagg God of Girth
Ymir Progenitor of the Frost Giants

Asgardians

History

The Asgardians refer to all of the major known inhabited realms of their cosmology as the "Nine Worlds". Only four of the Nine Worlds are located on the main Asgardian landmass: Asgard, home of the Gods, Vanaheim, home of the Asgardian's sister race, the Vanir, Nidavellir, home of the Dwarves, and Alfheim, home of the Light Elves.

The remainder of the Nine Worlds are on separate landmasses isolated from one another by interdimensional space (The Nine Worlds of Asgard are placed in a multi-leveled configuration, see diagram above. These levels do not represent any real physical distances or relationships between the realms). Midgard, our Earth, does not appear to be physically affected by the motions of any of the other physical bodies in the Asgardian cosmology, although Earth's axis (the pole around which it rotates) is in alignment with one of the roots of Yggdrasil, the cosmic ash tree that stands in Asgard. Jotunheim, the world of the giants, is a flat ring-shaped realm with high mountains along its inner edge. It is apparently on its own separate dimension plane, discrete from Asgard's and Earth's. Svartalfheim, home of the Dark Elves, is another asteroid-like landmass, small than Asgard. There are numerous nexus-portals between the mountains of Asgard permitting easy passage by denizens of each realm. These passageways make Jotunheim and Svartalfheim seem like "underworlds" of the Asgardian continent itself.

The eighth of the Nine Worlds is Hel, realm of the dead, and its sister realm, Niffleheim. In the Asgardian scheme of afterlife, the heroes and honored dead go to Valhalla, a special region of Asgard, the common dead go to Hel, and the dishonored dead (murderers and other evil-doers) go to Niffleheim. Hel, Niffleheim, and Valhalla possess the necessary conditions to permit the astral forms of the deceased to exists there for indefinite periods of time. At one time, Hela, goddess of the dead, usurped the rule of Valhalla, despite the fact it was on a different dimension plane than Hel. Odin has since reclaimed the land. The ninth of the Nine Worlds is Muspelheim, land of the Fire Demons. Until his recent disappearance, the primordial Fire Giant Surtur ruled Muspelheim. Muspelheim is on its own dimensional plane, separate from all the other Nine Worlds. In the Asgardians' account of the origin of their cosmology, Muspelheim, the land of fire, and Niffleheim, the land of ice, were said to predate recorded time, separated from one another by Ginnungagap, the Yawning Void.

Asgard is honeycombed with nexus-portals to the various extradimensional realms of the Nine Worlds, making the worlds (with the exception of Earth) sometimes seems like they are on a contiguous plain. (Indeed, early cartographers of Asgard mapped it this way). The only permanent portal to Earth is Bifrost, the Rainbow Bridge. There is a special passageway from Asgard to the extra-dimensional realm of Olympus, home of the Greek gods. Since Olympus is not a part of the Asgardian cosmology, this nexus-portal is believed to be an artificial rather than natural phenomenon. Another unique feature of Asgard is the Cave of Time, an apparently natural phenomenon through which passage to other time eras is possible.

It is probable that somewhere in Asgard's outlying Sea of Space there are floating nexus-portals to Earth's space. Beings of the Earthly dimension have in certain instances been able to travel from Earthly to Asgardian space. There may indeed be an edge to Asgard's Sea of Space, perhaps at the perimeter of the "Dome of the Sky" extending from the outer edge of ringed Jotunheim. At the edge of the Sea there would exist "dimensional borderlands" which serve as transitional areas between discrete dimensions.

Asgard and its sister realms are populated by six distinct humanoid races.

The Gods

The origin of the gods is shrouded in legend. It is believed that they are not native to the dimension of Asgard, but were born on Earth and relocated there at some point in the distant past. The gods of Asgard were worshipped about a millennium ago by the Norsemen of Scandinavia and various Germanic tribes (who called them by variant names; e.g. Wotan instead of Odin). The gods no longer have or actively seek worshippers on Earth. Certain gods, notably Thor and Odin, still take interest in the welfare of humanity. The gods possess certain superhuman physical attributes. They are extremely long-lived (though not immortal like the Olympian gods), aging at an extra, ordinarily slow rate upon reaching adulthood. Asgardian flesh and bone is about three times denser than similar human tissue, contributing to the gods' superhuman strength and weight. A typical Asgardian will have the following stats:

Typical Asgardian God
Fighting Remarkable
Agility Good
Strength Incredible
Endurance Incredible
Reason Good
Intuition Good
Psyche Excellent
  
Health 120
Karma 40
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity 0

Known Powers:

The Giants 

The second race of Asgard is the Giants also known as the Etins or Jötnar (singular: Jötunn), whose dwelling place is Jotunheim. The Giants are basically humanoid in appearance and color, although they tend toward the neanderthalic in body and bone structure. Their most distinguishing feature is their height. The average Giant is twenty feet tall, although some reach up to thirty feet. All Giants known to reside in Asgard have the following abilities:

Typical Asgardian Giant
Fighting Incredible
Agility Typical
Strength Amazing
Endurance Amazing
Reason Poor
Intuition Poor
Psyche Typical
  
Health 146
Karma 14
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity 0

Known Powers:

The Dwarves 

The third race of Asgard is the Dwarves. Dwarves are smaller in stature than the gods, and have squat, stocky bodies. Their average height is four feet. The Dwarves tend to be craftsmen and farmers who maintain friendly trade and peace relations with the Gods. Dwarves dwell in the land of Nidavellir, which is part of the landmass where Asgard and Vanaheim are situated. The following represent a typical Dwarf of Asgard:

Typical Asgardian Dwarf
Fighting Excellent
Agility Typical
Strength Excellent
Endurance Excellent
Reason Good
Intuition Typical
Psyche Good
  
Health 66
Karma 26
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity 0

Known Powers:

The Elves

The fourth race of Asgard is the Elves. There are two types of Elves; the Dark Elves and the Light Elves, and each dwell in their own separate world, Svartalfheim and Alfheim, respectively. Elves of both kinds vary greatly in size, from four to eight feet. They tend toward slender bodies with proportionately long limbs, although there are exceptions. The Light Elves tend to be lighter in color than the Dark Elves, and dwell on the surface while the Dark Elves dwell underground. Both typically possess the following ability ranks:

Typical Asgardian Elf
Fighting Excellent
Agility Incredible
Strength Typical
Endurance Excellent
Reason Good
Intuition Good
Psyche Good
  
Health 86
Karma 30
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity 0

Known Powers:

Weakness: All Faerie possess a vulnerability to iron; being struck by an object made of iron, or even holding an iron object, can cause great physical pain and injury to a Fae, +1CS to damage and Endurance feat vs Stun & Slam results. Faerie magic is useless against objects composed of iron.

The Trolls

The fifth race of Asgard is the Trolls, the least human-looking of the denizens of the worlds of Asgard, possessing body characteristics that are almost simian. Trolls are stocky and massive, have thick body hair, and tend toward a ruddy orange in color. They are on the average taller than the Gods but shorter than the Giants, around seven feet tall, although some Trolls are considerably taller. They live in scattered settlements throughout Asgard, Vanaheim, Jotunheim, and Svartalfheim, mostly underground. The following represents a standard Troll:

Typical Asgardian Troll
Fighting Remarkable
Agility Poor
Strength Incredible
Endurance Remarkable
Reason Feeble
Intuition Poor
Psyche Poor
  
Health 104
Karma 10
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity 0

Known Powers:

Equipment: Club +1CS to Strength for damage purposes. 
Limitation-Cowardice: Trolls will not attack unless they outnumber an opponent or can take them by surprise. They are more courageous when given firm leadership.

The Fire Demons

The sixth race of Asgard is the Fire Demons also called Fire Goblins or Demons. The Fire Demons are beings of fire who dwell in Muspelheim, but sometimes venture to the other worlds in the name of war. A nomadic race, the Demons are the offspring of the Fire Giant Surtur, whose existence is said to preceed that of the Gods. The Fire Demons tend to be about the same stature as the Gods. A typical Muspelheim Demon possesses the following ability ranks:

Typical Asgardian Demon
Fighting Incredible
Agility Remarkable
Strength Amazing
Endurance Remarkable
Reason Typical
Intuition Poor
Psyche Typical
  
Health 150
Karma 16
Resources Not Applicable
Popularity -10

Known Powers:

Weakness: Cold based attacks receive a +1CS.

Asgard Nine Realms_World Tree

Nine Worlds

The Nine Worlds of Asgardian cosmology are the separate worlds of that dimension supported by Yggdrasill, the World Tree. Although the realms are commonly divided into nine, further subdivisions can be made (i.e. Valhalla is a distinct portion of Asgard). Additionally, a tenth realm called Heven was previously cut-off from the rest of Yggdrasill until the death of the Watcher revealed its existence. Thanks to the Allspeak, all Asgardians and related races can communicate in all of the languages of the Nine Realms, Earth's dialects, and various alien languages.

Travel between realms is done via various portals and dimensional rifts. The Asgardians travel via the Bifrost the rainbow bridge that is guarded by Heimdall.

Nine Realms

Tenth Realm

  

Asgard: The Continent 

Asgard The Continent