One of the original fourteen factions, Jotunheim is a realm of snow and snow giants, known as the Jotunar. The white-haired beings are remnants of the glacial Rimtursar and the icy Niefel, taller giants they seemed like children to. The great Rimtursar warred with and defeated titans known as the Aesir in a time before time, though not without cost; one god marked the Rimtursar and their fiery neighbors for death by thunder, and so the Rimtursar went to sleep, possibly eternally. The Jotuns mourned their distant ancestors, but the Niefel enjoyed their time as the tallest of beings; until their own era came to pass, that is.

The greatest heroes of the Rimtursar killed gods. The greatest hero of the Niefel, Tjaste, immortalized himself (possibly literally) by capturing a god. The greatest of the Jotuns is a witch; she resides in Jarnvidjur, sowing spite and spells in her own people, taking pleasure in whatever comes of her schemes. She taught men and women alike the art of Blood magic, then taught the women how to ensnare their male counterparts in lycanthropy. When the Niefel left the world, she accepted the court advisors of their Jarls, withholding them from Jotunheim until the moment a Pretender God awakened; this wasn't great for the Jotun Jarls and the newer witches, but it has preserved ancient sorcery for this very moment, whereas the Jotuns' old Van enemies have ground themselves down with over-activity. The returning recluses are accompanied by the Vaettir, household goblins of the giantesses.

"[Niefelheim] sprung from old Norse myth. The Poetic Edda and some later tales, combined with general conceptions of Iron Age Scandinavia, are the main sources. Vanir, Aesir and Giants are ancient antagonists in these myths. The Aesir, being perceived as gods, have been made pretenders in Dominions. Not that Vanir weren't, but they seem less so than the Aesir in most instances. As with most nations of supernatural origin, it seems fitting that their magic fades with each passing age as humans become more and more numerous.

Niefelheim, Muspelheim, Jotunheim, and Utgård are part of the history of a single nation through the ages. Vanheim, Helheim and Midgård also share a common ancestry and development. In the middle era Helheim merges with Vanheim and disappears as an independent nation. Only the valkyries remain as reminders of the legacy of Helheim." -Illwinter

Jotunheim is one of the original fourteen factions from Dominions: Priests, Prophets, and Pretenders. The others are Arcoscephale, Ermor, Pythium, Man, Ulm, Marignon, Abysia, Caelum, C'tis, Pangaea, Vanheim, Atlantis, and R'lyeh.

If you are considering picking this nation to play, what should you know?

Magic Access	Alt. Access	Unit Summary	Core Abilities	Buildings
3 (rare 4, UR 5) 3 3 (rare 4, UR 5) 3 (rare 4, UR 5) 2 (rare 3, UR 4) 2 (rare 3, UR 4) 2	Heroes 22321 33233 3332 or 4221 Summons 423 243 432 432 (req. 43)	Giant Infantry and Skinshifters Niefel Giants	Cold Resistance Shock Vulnerability Snow Move	Giant Forts Forts reduce cold scale deaths by 2 steps

Capitol Gems: 1121

The odds for "rare" paths are a bit disgustingly low (a bit over 1%), but so are the odds for 3, 3, 2, and 2; a bit over 10%, on a 2-turn mage.

Cold Limit + 1
Prefers Cold Scale + 2

: Cold Resistance (15), Shock Vulnerability (5), Snow Move

• Seith Curse (Thaumaturgy 5)
  11 and 3
  Commentary here.
• Illwinter (Blood 6)
  35 and 120
  Commentary here.

Elements:

• No Fire access
• No Air access (aside from one hero)
• 3 on one-in-four Jotun Skrattis (2 on the rest)
• No Earth access

Sorcery:

• 2 on around one-in-nine Jarnvidjas (capital-only); 1 on one-in-five Gygjas off-capital
• 3 on around one-in-nine Jarnvidjas (capital-only); 2 on one-in-five Gygjas off-capital
• 2 on around one-in-nine Jarnvidjas (capital-only); 1 on one-in-five Gygjas off-capital
• 3 on around one-in-nine Jarnvidjas (capital-only); 2 on one-in-five Gygjas off-capital

Other Paths:

• 3 on one-in-four Jotun Skrattis (2 on the rest, and on one-in-five Gygjas)
• 2 on Jotun Godes

The Illwinter (53) allows 23 Skrattis with a Water booster, a Blood booster, and an Empowerment in Blood (or two Blood boosters if you have the time) to enable the summoning of Niefel Jarls with Winter's Call. These beings have 3221100%
10%, thus upgrading Jotunheim's Water access by a level (at least if the Water Queens were missed while studying Blood magic) and giving Jotunheim far-more-reliable access to 3.

Alternatively, Jotunheim has access to Summon Dwarf of the Four Directions, which lets a 43 Pretender (or a 42 Pretender with the Earth Boots) summon one-to-four additional 43 mages. One of these will come with 2, one will come with 2, one will come with 2, and one will come with 2.

No native access. High investment in Blood offers access to unique Fire mages, however; 5 for a one-in-four chance of a 4 and 8 for a one-in-three chance of at least 4, for instance. The summoning of the latter ages the caster by ten years. Either avenue allows for climbing the rest of the ladder, with the 8 option possibly giving you a Skull of Fire forger.

One of the Demon Lords (8) has 5, but that specific one is incredibly dangerous to have around. It's not out of the realm of imagination to get a 13 Jarnvidja, however; with a Glamour booster, she can summon a Queen of Winter who has a 50% chance to be a 2 mage. 12 is more likely, requiring a 45 empowerment to get within Faerie Court distance.

Alternatively, if you get Tjatse - Abductor, his 4 as a Great Eagle lets you climb the entire ladder.

An above-water Water nation, Jotunheim can climb most of the ladder but may run into trouble with summoning a Water Queen. Thanks to the Niefel Jarl, Jotunheim can reach 6 without even touching artifacts or the sea; for empowerment-less games, this isn't an option and the ceiling is generally 5.

No native access. However, Hidden in Snow can summon Unfrozen Mages with up to 3; this can be cast by Skrattis with a Death random and a Water booster, or by any Niefel Jarl. Alternatively, if you have a warm province, you can use the Queen of Winter strategy mentioned above to get a Faery Queen instead; she has a 1-in-3 chance of possessing 2, and she's a Disease Healer.

One of the Demon Lords has 44. He can then cast Father Illearth if Jotunheim hasn't fallen behind in Conjuration yet, for one additional 4 mage; or he can stick to Troll Kings, at 65 apiece.

The odds of getting 2 on a two-turn Jarnvidjur is around 11.2%. If you recruit six of them, you have a just-over-50% chance of one of them having 2. If you recruit nine, you have a just-under-66% chance. This also applies to getting 3, getting 2, and getting 3. There's also a .976% chance of going a level higher; the odds are less than 1-in-102.

Of the four, Death has the easiest ladder-climb. 2 gives the Skull Staff, so a 3 Jarnvidja really has 4. From there, it takes only a single Death empowerment to get the Skullface and the death-boosting artifacts.

Glamour is second-easiest, thanks to the Gossamer Veil, but it does require getting that one-in-nine Jarnvijda to forge. 3 becomes 4, which can then do other things depending on what else the Jarnvidja has, but Jarnvidja cannot craft the Mirage Crystal themselves; that would require a 23 Faery Queen.

Nature is given a significant leg up by two of Jotunheim's heroes, Gullveig - Undying and Angerboda - Great Hag; both of their paths let them craft the Thistle Mace, the Moonvine Bracelet, the Armor of Twisting Thorns, and the Treelord's Staff. Without heroes, the needed paths for these various boosters are very rare.

Lastly, there's Astral. Angerboda - Great Hag has 33; she can craft the Starshine Skullcap, then open an Ether Gate for a 25% chance of a 4 Ether Lord, getting another level. Without Angerboda, the situation is similar to that of Nature, except with only the Starshine Skullcap.

With Angerboda, Jotunheim doesn't need empowerment to reach 5; Angerboda can make the Armor of Twisting Thorns, and the Blood Thorn. Making the Armor of Twisting Thorns is otherwise difficult to procure.

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.

Nations
Early Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Ulm • Pyrène, • Marverni • Sauromatia • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Mictlan • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Agartha • Tir na n'Og • Fomoria • Vanheim • Helheim • Niefelheim • Muspelheim • Rus • Kailasa • Lanka • Yomi • Hinnom • Ur • Berytos • Xibalba • Mekone • Ubar • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Therodos
Middle Ages	Arcoscephale • Ermor • Sceleria • Pythium • Man • Eriu • Ulm • Pyrène • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Machaka • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Asphodel • Vanheim • Jotunheim • Nidavangr • Vanarus • Bandar Log • Shinuyama • Ashdod • Uruk • Nazca • Xibalba • Phlegra • Phaeacia • Ind • Na'ba • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Pelagia • Oceania • Ys
Late Ages	Arcoscephale • Pythium • Lemuria • Man • Ulm • Marignon • Mictlan • T'ien Ch'i • Jomon • Agartha • Abysia • Caelum • C'tis • Pangaea • Midgård • Utgård • Bogarus • Patala • Gath • Ragha • Xibalba • Phlegra • Vaettiheim • Feminie • Piconye • Andramania • Atlantis • R'lyeh • Erytheia