Mythological Figures sets its sights on a viking that now resides in the majestic halls of Valhalla: Eric Bloodaxe!
The specific origins of Eric Bloodaxe’s parents (presumably King Harald Fairhair and Ragnhild the Mighty) are as elusive as definitive evidence about the historical figure himself, and the nature of his siblings (brothers and half-brothers—who knows for sure) is much the same. We’re not even sure when exactly he was born other than that it was likely in the year 895 AD, and that Eric lived to the age of 68 or 69 before death finally caught up with him. Eric grew up as a foster son to the hersir (a viking military commander of 100 men pledged to a jarl) Thórir son of Hróald, soon beginning his first (eight year) reign of piracy at the young age of 12 sailing as far as Russia. It’s thought that he married the “mother of kings”, a princess of Denmark named Gunnhild, but there isn’t full consensus on that (or that he had only one wife). In any event Eric ascended to the throne of Norway following the death of King Harald in 930 AD (possibly after ruling beside his father for a time), but this initial reign was short for he was intensely disliked by his subjects and his half-brother Haakon (sometimes called Aðalsteinsfóstri or Haakon the Good) returned from the court of West-Saxon to oust him (becoming King of Norway from 934–961 AD).
Eric decided to head to Northumbria (northern England) after that, but the saga accounts of how, when exactly, and why he did so vary—Gunnhild might have actually been from there, he may have gone on another raiding spree, or maybe he even died soon after in Spain. For our purposes here we’re assuming he did not perish after only four odd decades of life. Five years earlier King Æthelstan brought the West-Saxon kings and Hiberno-Norse descendants (from Ireland) to heel and he continued to do so for some time, but his successors were not so fortunate and by 947 (or 948, it’s not clear) in protest the northumbrians had declared Eric Bloodaxe their king (much to the dissatisfaction of the current ruler, King Eadred). They were soon intimidated and compensated into repledging their fealty.
This short-lived initial reign was soon followed in 952 by another slightly longer rule when King Olaf (who had soon won over the recently appeased northumbrians) was himself deposed and Eric was restored to the throne of Northumbria—at least until 954. Whether Eric was assassinated in a treacherous plot at the hands of Olaf’s son Maccus or died in battle remains uncertain, but because of the breadth of his raiding the sagas claim that upon his death he was welcomed to Valhalla by Odin, Bragi, Sigmundr, and other slain heroes.
Design Notes: With the scant historical records for Eric Bloodaxe we don’t have much to go with, but some of the sagas describe him as "a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior…violent of disposition, cruel, gruff, and taciturn". We can also deduce some things by the nature of his rule—he either didn’t much care for it or he was much more interested in the victory and less about what happens afterward, which certainly sounds like the purvey of a viking raider that made his way into Valhalla. With that in mind Eric is going to lean into fighter levels with the brute archetype, plus some barbarian levels (the juggernaut going handily with that fighter pick), and then some rogue levels to pick up on Cunning Action and a little expertise to beat that Valhalla-worthy raiding skill. Let’s do the numbers! The DMG landed at a high 17.833, the Blog of Holding at 15.166, averaging out to CR 16 which feels pretty good for his high AC, decent action economy, and heady resilience (all those hit points and weapon resistances). Definitely a legendary viking!
Armor Class 20 (Constitution, shield, defense fighting style, sealegs fighting style)
Hit Points 173 (12d10+4d12+2d8+72)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 40 ft.
Saving Throws Str +10, Con +10; Proficiency +6
Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +8, Perception +7, Stealth +14, Survival +7; thieves’ tools +8, water vehicles +14
Senses passive Perception 17
Languages Norwegian, Thieves’ Cant
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
Background: Sailor. Eric is able to acquire passage on a sailing ship for him and his allies free of charge. He has no control over the ship’s route, departure, or return, and although no coin is required he and his companions do have to help crew the vessel.
Action Surge (1/Short Rest). Once on his turn, Eric can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Brutal Toughness. Eric gains a +1d6 bonus to saving throws and death saves (treating final results of 20 or higher on a death saving throw as a natural 20).
Cunning Action (1/Turn). Eric can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Danger Sense. Eric has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Feat: Athletic. Eric can stand up from being prone with only 5 feet of his movement, climbing doesn’t cost him extra movement, and he only has to move 5 feet before making a running long jump or running high jump.
Feat: Mobility. Eric can Dash through difficult terrain without requiring additional movement. Whenever he makes an attack against a creature, he doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of his turn.
Fighting Style: Sealegs. As long as he is not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, Eric gains a +1 bonus to AC, and he gains both climbing and swimming speeds equal to his speed (included above).
Indomitable (1/Long Rest). Eric can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Rage (3/Long Rest). On his turn, Eric can enter a rage as a bonus action. His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Eric can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits:
Reckless Attack. When Eric makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.
Second Wind (1/Short Rest). On his turn, Eric can use a bonus action to regain 17 (1d10+12) hit points.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn, 1d6). Eric deals an extra 3 (1d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Eric that isn’t incapacitated and Eric doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll, or when the only creature within 5 feet of Eric is his target. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack. Eric attacks three times when he takes the Attack action.
Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d8+1d6+4) slashing damage, or 13 (1d10+1d6+4) slashing damage if wielded in two hands.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d4+1d6+4) piercing damage.
Handaxe (3). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8+1d6+2) piercing damage.
The specific origins of Eric Bloodaxe’s parents (presumably King Harald Fairhair and Ragnhild the Mighty) are as elusive as definitive evidence about the historical figure himself, and the nature of his siblings (brothers and half-brothers—who knows for sure) is much the same. We’re not even sure when exactly he was born other than that it was likely in the year 895 AD, and that Eric lived to the age of 68 or 69 before death finally caught up with him. Eric grew up as a foster son to the hersir (a viking military commander of 100 men pledged to a jarl) Thórir son of Hróald, soon beginning his first (eight year) reign of piracy at the young age of 12 sailing as far as Russia. It’s thought that he married the “mother of kings”, a princess of Denmark named Gunnhild, but there isn’t full consensus on that (or that he had only one wife). In any event Eric ascended to the throne of Norway following the death of King Harald in 930 AD (possibly after ruling beside his father for a time), but this initial reign was short for he was intensely disliked by his subjects and his half-brother Haakon (sometimes called Aðalsteinsfóstri or Haakon the Good) returned from the court of West-Saxon to oust him (becoming King of Norway from 934–961 AD).
Eric decided to head to Northumbria (northern England) after that, but the saga accounts of how, when exactly, and why he did so vary—Gunnhild might have actually been from there, he may have gone on another raiding spree, or maybe he even died soon after in Spain. For our purposes here we’re assuming he did not perish after only four odd decades of life. Five years earlier King Æthelstan brought the West-Saxon kings and Hiberno-Norse descendants (from Ireland) to heel and he continued to do so for some time, but his successors were not so fortunate and by 947 (or 948, it’s not clear) in protest the northumbrians had declared Eric Bloodaxe their king (much to the dissatisfaction of the current ruler, King Eadred). They were soon intimidated and compensated into repledging their fealty.
This short-lived initial reign was soon followed in 952 by another slightly longer rule when King Olaf (who had soon won over the recently appeased northumbrians) was himself deposed and Eric was restored to the throne of Northumbria—at least until 954. Whether Eric was assassinated in a treacherous plot at the hands of Olaf’s son Maccus or died in battle remains uncertain, but because of the breadth of his raiding the sagas claim that upon his death he was welcomed to Valhalla by Odin, Bragi, Sigmundr, and other slain heroes.
Design Notes: With the scant historical records for Eric Bloodaxe we don’t have much to go with, but some of the sagas describe him as "a large and handsome man, strong and of great prowess, a great and victorious warrior…violent of disposition, cruel, gruff, and taciturn". We can also deduce some things by the nature of his rule—he either didn’t much care for it or he was much more interested in the victory and less about what happens afterward, which certainly sounds like the purvey of a viking raider that made his way into Valhalla. With that in mind Eric is going to lean into fighter levels with the brute archetype, plus some barbarian levels (the juggernaut going handily with that fighter pick), and then some rogue levels to pick up on Cunning Action and a little expertise to beat that Valhalla-worthy raiding skill. Let’s do the numbers! The DMG landed at a high 17.833, the Blog of Holding at 15.166, averaging out to CR 16 which feels pretty good for his high AC, decent action economy, and heady resilience (all those hit points and weapon resistances). Definitely a legendary viking!
Eric Bloodaxe
Medium humanoid (human), chaotic neutral fighter (brute) 12/barbarian (juggernaut) 4/rogue 2Armor Class 20 (Constitution, shield, defense fighting style, sealegs fighting style)
Hit Points 173 (12d10+4d12+2d8+72)
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft., swim 40 ft.
STR | DEX | CON | INT | WIS | CHA |
18 (+4) | 14 (+2) | 18 (+4) | 10 (+0) | 12 (+1) | 14 (+2) |
Skills Athletics +10, Intimidation +8, Perception +7, Stealth +14, Survival +7; thieves’ tools +8, water vehicles +14
Senses passive Perception 17
Languages Norwegian, Thieves’ Cant
Challenge 16 (15,000 XP)
Background: Sailor. Eric is able to acquire passage on a sailing ship for him and his allies free of charge. He has no control over the ship’s route, departure, or return, and although no coin is required he and his companions do have to help crew the vessel.
Action Surge (1/Short Rest). Once on his turn, Eric can take an additional action on top of his regular action and a possible bonus action.
Brutal Toughness. Eric gains a +1d6 bonus to saving throws and death saves (treating final results of 20 or higher on a death saving throw as a natural 20).
Cunning Action (1/Turn). Eric can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Danger Sense. Eric has advantage on Dexterity saving throws against effects that he can see, such as traps and spells. To gain this benefit, he can’t be blinded, deafened, or incapacitated.
Feat: Athletic. Eric can stand up from being prone with only 5 feet of his movement, climbing doesn’t cost him extra movement, and he only has to move 5 feet before making a running long jump or running high jump.
Feat: Mobility. Eric can Dash through difficult terrain without requiring additional movement. Whenever he makes an attack against a creature, he doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks from that creature until the end of his turn.
Fighting Style: Sealegs. As long as he is not wearing heavy armor or using a shield, Eric gains a +1 bonus to AC, and he gains both climbing and swimming speeds equal to his speed (included above).
Indomitable (1/Long Rest). Eric can reroll a saving throw that he fails but must use the new roll.
Rage (3/Long Rest). On his turn, Eric can enter a rage as a bonus action. His rage lasts for 1 minute, ending early if he is knocked unconscious or if his turn ends and he hasn’t either attacked a hostile creature since his last turn or taken damage since then. Eric can also end his rage on his turn as a bonus action. While raging, he gains the following benefits:
- Eric has advantage on Strength checks and Strength saving throws.
- When Eric makes a melee weapon attack using Strength, he deals 2 extra damage.
- Eric has resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage.
- While conscious, he cannot be knocked prone.
- Once per turn, the target of a successful melee attack from Eric makes a DC 18 Strength saving throw or is pushed 5 feet away from him. Eric can immediately move into the square previously occupied by the target of his attack.
Reckless Attack. When Eric makes his first attack on his turn, he can decide to attack recklessly. Doing so gives him advantage on melee weapon attack rolls using Strength during this turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until his next turn.
Second Wind (1/Short Rest). On his turn, Eric can use a bonus action to regain 17 (1d10+12) hit points.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn, 1d6). Eric deals an extra 3 (1d6) damage when he hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of Eric that isn’t incapacitated and Eric doesn’t have disadvantage on the attack roll, or when the only creature within 5 feet of Eric is his target. The attack must use a finesse or a ranged weapon.
ACTIONS
Extra Attack. Eric attacks three times when he takes the Attack action.
Battleaxe. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 12 (1d8+1d6+4) slashing damage, or 13 (1d10+1d6+4) slashing damage if wielded in two hands.
Dagger. Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d4+1d6+4) piercing damage.
Handaxe (3). Melee or Ranged Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, range 20/60 ft., one target. Hit: 11 (2d6+4) slashing damage.
Longbow. Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 150/600 ft., one target. Hit: 10 (1d8+1d6+2) piercing damage.
