MA Nidavangr, Bear, Wolf and Crow

Nidavangr is a land of windswept moors and frozen mountains. This cold and inhospitable land once belonged to the Jotuns or perhaps the Vanir, but it was conquered and settled by strong and fierce men in ages past. Ever since they have fought bitter wars with the former inhabitants of the land. Centuries of war have tempered the will and the ways of the Nidings of Nidavangr. Men as well as women are taught to fight at an early age and failure to survive combat or the harsh climate is more prevalent than dying from disease or old age. To most Nidings, death in a bed is a failure of life as a whole. Nidavangr is composed of three clans, named after their totemic animals, the Bear, the Wolf and the Crow. The warriors of the clans adopt the battle tactics of their totem. The clans are ruled by Jarls, but it is the Seithberenders, the clan shamans, who are the true masters of Nidavangr and the ones who perform the Nidalögning, Nidbath, on the sacred warriors of the Jarldom. The Nidbathed are ghastly warriors who are not even stopped by death. Should a Nidbathed be killed he rises again, and continues to fight, for he has several lives. Out of necessity, the perpetual conflict with the Vanir has made the Nidings search for ways to avoid the effects of glamour in their lands. And so the Awakening God taught the clan shamans the art of seith and how to scry their lands for that which cannot be seen.

"Nidavangr is a nation based on three main sources. Two of them are derivatives of rpg settings of mine. The first setting was a land inhabited by barbarians divided into seven clans named after their totemic animals. At the center of this land was a kettle hole at which unholy rites were performed to create Nidlögade, warriors with several lives, which together with their raven clan shamans served as the final antagonists of the campaign. I reused and reworked the totemic tribes for my current pathfinder campaign. In this setting there are only three clans: wolf, bear and raven. The shape shifting seithberenders of Nidavangr closely resemble the clan druids of that campaign. Nidavangr is a mix of these two settings with some added mood of the novel Midnight Tides of the Malazan Book of the Fallen. My impressions of the frozen waste and the undying Rhulad have trickled into Nidavangr and the Nidbathed, but I can't say for sure how much of the mood you would recognize. Finally Nidavangr was set in a Dominions context with jotuns and vanir as ancestral enemies of the clans." -Illwinter

Born in a land that once belonged to the Joton or Vanir, the nation is a love child of Rus's shapeshifting shamans and berserkers, Ulmish raiding tactics and (improved) ubiquity, and plundered and modified Helheim death magic, despite Nidvangr having no confirmed lore origins from any of those nations.

Magic Access	Alt. Access	Unit Summary	Core Abilities	Buildings
3 (rare 4, UR 5) 3 (rare 4, UR 5) 2 (rare 3, UR 4) 2 2 1 1 (rare 2, UR 3) 1	Hero 231 2321 2341	Barbarians Stealthy Raiding Infantry Berserking Infantry Semi-immortal Sacreds	Cold Resistance Snow Move Skirmisher Ambidextrous Stealthy Mountain Survival Forest Survival Shapechanger Cub-Mother	Standard Forts Temples cost 300

Capitol Gems: 113

Turmoil Limit + 1
Cold Limit + 1

Prefers Cold Scale + 2

Blood Sacrifice: Priests can sacrifice a blood slave at a temple to help extend the dominion. This ability is not transferred to disciple nations. Disciple nations with this ability can still use it. These nations do not have dying dominion.

Scar Souls: The Scar Souls of their sacred unit and one sacred commander are determined through the dominion score of the province they are created in on that turn. After that, every time they die, they lose one of those Scar Souls, never to be regained. You can see how many Scar Souls your units have by holding 'Tab' in the army management screen.

Regardless of the pretender's dominion score chosen at the start of the game, you can choose a Prophet and preach your capital's dominion up to 7, giving the Nidbathed 3 Scar Souls when recruited while Nidhere get the full 7.

All Commanders, Units, and Heroes have Cold Resistance (5), Mountain Survival, Forest Survival, Snow Move

• Seith Curse (Thaumaturgy 5)
  11 and 3
  Commentary here.

• No fire magic
• 2 on some Crow Clan Seithberenders, and 3 on a few (capital-only)
• 2 on Wolf Clan Seithberenders, and 1 on one-in-five Apprentices
• 1 on Bear Clan Seithberenders and one-in-five Apprentices

• 3 on some Crow Clan Seithberenders and 4 on a few (capital-only), 1 on one-in-five Apprentices
• 3 on some Crow Clan Seithberenders and 4 on a few (capital-only), 1 on one-in-five Apprentices
• 2 on Bear Clan Seithberenders, and 1 on one-in-five Apprentices
• No glamour magic

• 1 on some Crow Clan Siethberenders, and 2 on a few (capital-only)
• 1 on Seithberenders

See Magic Access. These guides supplement the summaries at the top.

Blood allows for summoning powerful mages with a variety of paths, but no Water. 5 for Bind Heliophagus and 8 for Bind Demon Lord.

No National Access 5 can Bind Heliophagus for 1 in 4 chance of 4.

Crow Clan Seithberender has a 7 in 16 chance of 2, a 1 in 16 chance of 3, and a 1 in 640 chance of 4. With 2, it can attempt the unique Tome of High Power. Without it, empowerment is needed to get to the key level of 4.

2 Wolf Clan Seithberender is the best MA Nidavangr has, and all it needs. With one Water booster, it can Contact Naiad.

The hero, Seithmathr Wolf, has 2. With one Water booster, it can Contact Naiad, as well. With two Water boosters, it can cast Streams from Hades.

1 Bear Clan Seithberender is as good as recruiting gets for MA Nidavangr. With a level of empowerment, it can make Earth Boots or attempt the unique The Tome of Gaia.

The hero, Seithmathr Bear, has 2 and can attempt the unique The Tome of Gaia right away.

Crow Clan Seithberender has a 7 in 16 chance of 3, a 1 in 16 chance of 4, and a 1 in 640 chance of 5.

31 Crow Clan Seithberenders (1 in 8) with two Blood boosters or 22 (1 in 16) with one Astral booster and one Blood booster, can attempt the unique The Oath Rod of Kurgi.

31 Crow Clan Seithberenders (1 in 8) with three Astral boosters can attempt the unique The Void Sphere.

Crow Clan Seithberender has a 7 in 16 chance of 3, a 1 in 16 chance of 4, and a 1 in 640 chance of 5.

2 Crow Clan Seithberender (1 in 16) or 1 Crow Clan Seithberender 7 in 16 with one Blood booster can attempt the unique The Black Book of Secrets.

The hero, Seithmathr Wolf, has 3 but no useful crosspaths.

The hero, Seithmathr Crow, has 4 but no useful crosspaths.

2 Bear Clan Seithberender with a level of empowerment or an Earth booster, (surprisingly tricky to get,) can attempt the unique The Tome of Gaia.

A Wolf Clan Seithberender with a Water booster can Contact Naiad.

The hero, Seithmathr Bear, has 3 and can attempt the unique The Tome of Gaia.

The hero, Seithmathr Wolf, has 2 and with one Water booster can also Contact Naiad.

No National Access 3 can Summon Spectre for a 7 in 16 chance of at least 1.

3 can cast Forest Troll Tribe for a 1 in 4 chance of 1.

Crow Clan Seithberender has a 1 in 16 chance of 2 and 7 in 16 of 1. With 2 it can attempt the unique The Black Book of Secrets. With 2 and an Astral booster, it can attempt the unique Tome of the Lower Planes. Without one or the other, a level of empowerment is needed to hit Blood's key level of 3 and attempt the unique The Oath Rod of Kurgi.

How to win as the nation. Feel free to use the following sections, or delete them, or change them.

Different expansion options.

Early game options.

Mid game options.

Late game options.

What are the nation's weaknesses?

Add links to guides or other overviews for this nation here.

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