“Once Sun and Moon are swallowed whole and the wolves rest contently on the branches of Yggdrasil, Midgard changes forever. The days and nights blend together, dark and cold. The stars plummet and disappear, but those that remain in the sky produce a faint light source for those down below. The horizon is painted in a vermilion halo as the fires of Muspelheim pierce the darkness. Up in the north sky, the colors of Asgard’s Bifrost bridge give direction to Midgard’s weary travellers.
In this new age, torches and lanterns are a must at all times. The cold can be fatal to those ill-prepared. Winter has descended on the land, blanketing the landscape in snow and ice. For the remainder of Ragnarok, no crops will grow. Rivers freeze over and the seas are speckled with icebergs. Without sun and warmth, the trees and plants slowly wither. The only surviving forests are tended to by Druids or sustained through magic.
With no farmed sustenance, people rely on hunting as the primary source of food. Men compete for limited resources as animals become scarcer. Only those who have the tools to bore through the thick ice can fish. Settlements move to the coastal regions as the heart of the mainland becomes too cold to sustain life.
Law and order has disappeared. The social fabric is torn, and food and shelter become the sole preoccupation. Karls, the once proud and prominent lords, are turning into oppressive warlords. Relationships break down between neighbors and villagers, and feuds break out. Families turn on each other as old grievances turn septic. Life devolves into a daily struggle for survival: kill or be killed.
Hopelessness has washed over the lands of Midgard.
The men of Midgard are of two minds about their belief in the Aesir gods and the Jotuns. These higher powers can offer an excape from the torment of these treacherous days and a salvation from damnation in Niflheim, but their much more frequent meddling in the affairs of mankind has brought about disaster. When the gods or their emissaries come to Midgard, destruction and devastation often follow. In their darkest hour, mankind is reduced to imploring the higher powers but hoping, too, that they do not manifest themselves in their vicinity.”(Fate of the Norns: Ragnarok Core Rulebook)
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