Looking for an adventure -- journey to the World Tree Yggdrasil

[Madeiner]

Hi there :)

Soon i'll have my players start a quest to reach Yggdrasil, to open the way to another land and soon the end of a multi-year campaign.

I'm looking for adventures or even ideas on a journey to the World Tree.
I'd like an epic (but not too long) journey, probably crossing Ysgard and the vast realms of the norse gods. The movie "Thor" was a very good inspiration for some characters and the general feeling.

Can you recommend any adventures? Or point me to some resources? Edition or setting is not important. I can design my own encounters, i'm mostly looking for an interesting plot.

[Eldan]

I'd recommend looking into AD&D 2nd edition Planescape. The book Planes of Chaos has D&D's take on Ysgard in quite some detail. Yggdrasil is in the setting, though there isn't as much on it. The Player's Prime to the Outlands may have a bit.

[Kitten Champion]

You might want to try "Hammered", book three of the Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. The plot revolves around the World Tree and the mythical Norse realms, in a quest to kill Thor by a number of extremely disgruntled immortals.

[Morph Bark]

Read up on some Norse myths. There are tons they never used or likely will ever use in Marvel materials, as half the myths that have to do with Thor or Loki sound like the plotline of a college movie. Likely not what you want though.

[Mordokai]

The Expedition to the Demonweb Pits features a part of the adventure spent on plane of Yggdrasil. From what I recall, it's quite a significant portion of adventure and it should give you a general idea of what to expect and what to do.

It's by no means the primary focus of adventure. As the name suggests, the main part of adventure goes on in Abyss. Still, if you're looking for an ideas, it should be a good start as any.

[Inglenook]

Are you planning on using the D&D version of Norse mythology, or are you going for something a little closer to the actual myths?

[Madeiner]

Are you planning on using the D&D version of Norse mythology, or are you going for something a little closer to the actual myths?

I think i'll use the standard D&D version, because i dont have time to research everything. However, when i find something that i like, i include it without much fuss usually.

[Palegreenpants]

Well, I know as much about your World Tree as I know about Metaphysical Theory. (Nothing!)
BUT, I do a LOT of adventures involving big, creepy, forests, moors and swamps. . . So, advice.
I would suggest keeping a huge air of mystery about this realm the players are in. Mystery always makes alternate planes more interesting IMO. And, if you wish, make the place REALLY easy to get lost in.
That always gets my players freaking out. Being trapped, lost, in a forest realm and being stalked by the BBEG for the whole while!

In all probability, none of what I just said made much sense. . . or applied to the topic at all. . .
But I hope it helps.

[CET]

I know more about norse mythology (or at least, about the Eddas) than I do about the D&D version, so these may require some adaptation.


Idea:

The portal opens to the realm of the dead, and Odin believes it will allow him to bring the god Baldr back from that place (Baldr was assassinated by Loki back in the day for being a ponce and a braggart, but everyone else liked him).

The PCs have to travel through Asgard (and perhaps the ice and fire realms of the giants) to recover pieces of the world tree in order to open the portal.* Loki and his minions are determined to stop them**

*You could also have bizarre things for the fetch quests, Norse mythology is big on materials like 'the dying breath of a hero' or 'the sound of cat feet.'

** Optional twist: Loki knows that opening a portal to Hel will cause something bad to happen (like opening Asgard up to invasion from a more traditional evil realm like the abyss or the nine hells). But since no one ever listens to Loki, he is trying to kill the PCs to stop them.

Loki's Children - Though Loki himself is an ambiguous figure, many of his children are monsters. The wolf Fenrir (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fenrir) and great serpent Jormungandr (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J%C3%B6rmungandr) are the two most infamous, but whose to say there aren't others? Pick some of the more esoteric nasties out of the monster manual and give them old norse sounding names. Then send them after the PCs.

[Madeiner]

Thanks :) That's certainly good insipiration, especially the part about the dying breath and the cat sounds. I like these sort of things :D

[Inglenook]

I know very little about the D&D Norse planes, but you actually might be able to adapt the D&D cosmology to fit the actual Norse cosmology quite easily.

In Norse mythology, the nine worlds/planes are all located in/near the roots of the world tree Yggdrasil at various "levels" and directions, and many or all of them are ostensibly connected so that one could get around without using Plane Shift. The "tiers" are sort of open to interpretation, but this is a rough order:

- Muspellsheim. The Elemental Plane of Fire? Analogous to the sun, maybe. Home of fire giants.
- Alfheim. Home of something resembling sun elves or Eldar (Tolkien)? Also the domain of the god Frey. Reminds me strongly of Valinor from Tolkien's mythology—a land of light and beauty.
- Asgard. Mostly the same as Ysgard? Home of the Aesir (the ruling gods), and the afterlife for the valorous dead. Surrounded by a broken wall. Above Midgard, connected via Bifrost the rainbow bridge.
- Vanaheim. Home of the Vanir (ancient fertility/prophesy gods who were displaced by the Aesir). Implied to be very near Midgard.
- Midgard. The Prime Material Plane? All the lands are circled by a vast ocean (in which a massive sea serpent lives), and surrounding the ocean is a wall of impenetrable mountains and forests to keep the giants of the adjoining Jotunnheim from invading.
- Jotunnheim. Home of the frost and ice giants—the oldest races. Generally large and nasty, although some were more like humans or Aesir in appearance.
- Svartalfaheim. The Elemental Plane of Earth? Home to the dark elves and/or dwarves. Subterranean, mountainous, full of caverns and ores.
- Helheim. The realm of Hel, the death goddess, and home of the unvalorous dead. Cold and foggy, used to be part of Niflheim that warmed up slightly?
- Niflheim. The Elemental Plane of Ice? A land of frozen rivers and mountains. Implied to be where the souls of the wicked are sent to suffer by Hel?

In the tree itself there are three large roots that touch several of the brush several of the planes, and where they touch they tap into mystical wells: one in Asgard, one in Jotunnheim, one in Niflheim.

There are several creatures that inhabit the tree rather than the planes: serpents gnawing at the roots, an eagle at the top of the tree who has immeasurable wisdom, etc. And outside the tree and the worlds is the primordial chaos of Ginnungagap (which could be analogous to a lot of things—the Far Planes, the Elemental Plane of Chaos, etc.).

Lots of plot hooks in any of the Norse myths. Maybe the PCs are trying to prevent Ragnarok? Maybe they want to enter Helheim and free the spirits of deceased loved ones? Or journey to the top of Yggdrasil and speak to the eagle to discover the meaning of life? Or journey past Niflheim, following the roots of the tree as they stretch into the darkness of Ginnungagap (which may lead into new planes entirely).

[Gwendol]

The norse dark elves are more like goblins than drow (in described appearance).

[Madeiner]

Maybe the PCs are trying to prevent Ragnarok?

Almost like this. Ragnarok happened, and then happens again every 300 years or so. They are in the middle of the cycle, trying to prevent it from happening again. Dozens of heroes have tried the same, and failed in their cycle.

However, i am mostly looking for maps, characters, plots, dungeons, etc

[Ironlion45]

Since D&D and high fantasy were quite a bit influenced by Germanic/Norse mythology, the myths actually incorporate quite well (Remember, Tolkien's Elvish language is basically a modified Finnish dialect).

The Quintessential, BEST introduction to Norse mythology is a book called, appropriately, The Norse Myths (http://www.amazon.com/Norse-Myths-Pantheon-Folklore-Library/dp/0394748468/ref=la_B001IOH8KM_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345671318&sr=1-1) By Kevin Crossley-Holland.

I'm sure you are already familiar, but a source like this will do a good job bringing it all together.

What this does is is shows you what the cosmology is like, the layers on the tree of Yggdrasil (Asgard, Midgard, Hel and all their sub-regions); It introduces you to the Pantheon (though of course rulebooks for 2nd and 3rd edition both did this also).

The Crossley-Holland book even has a pretty good "Map of the Universe" based on the Yggdrasil cosmology, which would no doubt be helpful.

Armed with this information, everything else you need already exists; you might wish to come up with some area/regional maps, but then other adventures and everything will already work; you just change the names of a few things like the Gods.

Even the monster manual is chock full of Norse monsters, like the favorites: Trolls and Giants. Dwarfs, Elves, and even the Svartálfar ("Black Elfs", the inspiration for D&D's Drow Elves), who live underground and are just a bit like Dwarfs.

So really, armed with information, everything else you need is already there in the main source books; you just have to change some names around at the very most.

[Ironlion45]

The best thing I can think of would be to take some dungeons that you like, and use them as sort of the only way to get to the Rainbow Bridge that leads to Asgard.

Alternatively, here's a cool idea: the three planes can be traversed by roots of the tree that draw water from bodies of water on each of the three main "levels" of the tree. Wouldn't it be cool to travel through one of these water-channel roots on the incredibly long journey to the tree itself, and depending on which route you take could take you up to Asgard or down into the frozen depths of Hel itself.

Just a thought.