Finnish Mythos
Finnish Mythos
The stories of this mythos are magnificently told in The
Kalevala,
the Finnish national epic.
These tales focus on the exploits of the heroes,
rather than the gods.
The heroes of The
Kalevala are very powerful;
they possess abilities beyond those of mortal men,
and most have divine ancestors.
They even have brushes with the gods (though only Vainamoinen
is powerful and skillful enough to successfully meddle with the gods).
The core of the epic is the continuing conflict between Kalevala,
the land of good heroes,
and Pohjola,
the land of evil && wizardry. <compare: black magician,
DLA>
<think about it: the map/gameboard/overland map above is WRONG ...
should be 2 maps>
<ergo: one map for Kalevala, one for Pohjola>
All of the heroes are great bards,
and make mighty magic with their songs.
The clerics of the gods consider themselves
above normal men,
and are generally well-respected and/or feared.
They have no qualms about using spells to chastise those who offend
them or threaten their power.
| LG | Ilmatar, Mielikki, Ukko |
| NG | Ahto, Mielikki, Ukko |
| CG | Mielikki, Tuoni, Ukko |
| LN | Ilmatar |
| N | Untamo |
| CN | Tuoni |
| LE | Ilmatar, Loviatar, Surma |
| NE | Loviatar, Surma |
| CE | Hiisi, Kiputytto, Loviatar, Surma, Tuonetar, Tuoni |
<images needed: Ahto & Water Dwarf, Kiputytto, Tiera, Surma,
Tuonetar, Air Maiden, Untamo, Great Tree, Magic Wool, Rake of Iron>
<this book should contain all needed images:
THE KALEVALA IN IMAGES
http://shop.fng.fi/default.asp?docId=12624&productGroupId=12665&productId=14370>
CLIMATE/TERRAIN
subarctic forest
subarctic marsh
subarctic mountains (Lapland mountains)
"fuckload of lakes and sandy woods" - anaonymous
Hi Richard,
What you say about parents makes sense.
As for the finnish pantheon,
I quite agree that is is a most interesting one.
I styled my magic-user Mordenkainen
on that mythology.
Cheetio,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by MutieMoe
Vaka vanha Gygax tietäjä iän-ikuinen!
About the closest to knowing
Finnish is casually knowing a few Finns and a laplander 
Quote:
Originally Posted by MutieMoe
I would have never guessed
that, quite interesting tidbit of information .
I see you picked the "nen"
from the common ending of many finnish surnames like example "Mustonen",
"Virtanen" etc..
Heh...that was my purpose,
as I planned to develop name chants to use against N/PCs that I found objectionable,
as Vainomoinen found Kullervo 
I did actually create one, but I never approached the DM of the group to
invoke it. Anyway, the "nen" ending was for Vainomoinen, of course, as
I was much taken with his character.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MutieMoe
What exactly does "Finnish-like"
mean? 
Was or is there
more Kalevala-inspired things in Greyhawk or D&D in general? I remember
at least the boxed sets of D&D having artifact that was the wife that
Ilmarinen made of precious metals, but was there else?
As there was no parallel
to mythical Finland in the campaigns I played in, nor on the continent
presented in the World of Greyhawk
setting, the best I could manage was to have a few outstanding persons
(such as Louhi) and objects brought into play.
I did have a Sampo, but
it was not the same as that that Ilmarinen made that ground out grain,
gold, and salt. I have forgotten what it actually produced, but IIRR it
milled small quantities of alcohol, porridge, and copper once per day,
not continually.
Anyway, if I had been selecting a name closer to my family's traditional ancestor, I would have based my PC's name on a mythic figure such as Wipunen.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by The
Merciful
Actually I can say with
good confidence in Tolkien's case his insipration has been Kalevala (the
finnish national epic for those who might not know).
Tale of Hurin's children
is pretty much retelling of Kullervo's tale, including unwitting incest,
suicide in guilt and a talking sword.
Speaking of Kalevala, if
you drop 'd' from Mordenkainen,
you actually have a name you could fool a born Finn with.
Not too bad for a foregner. 
I have read Kalevala several
times, admire Vainomoinen greatly, have seen
the b&w Eussian film about his journey to Pojola with Ilmarnen to get
Louhi's daughter, and much enjoyed de Camp's & Pratt's Wall of Serpents
drawn from Finnish mythology.
Ir was not by chance that
my first and still most potent mage PC was named Mordenkainen.
Cheerio,
Gary