A Guide to the Norse

[CountMRVHS]

The Norse

It’s safe to say that the Vikings have seen better times.

If you’re familiar with Viking Invasion 2 (from the same team who brought you Norman Invasion), you’ll remember not one but two Scandinavian factions terrorizing the British Isles. Between them, the Danes and the Norwegians made life difficult for the Anglo-Saxon and Celtic peoples, and carved out their own kingdoms and empires across the landscape.

But in 1066, those “good old days” for the Scandinavians are a fading memory. The Norse presence on Man and the northern isles is the only remaining hope for the descendants of the sea-kings to assert some kind of dominance over a part of Britain.

In many ways, the Norse are actually the weakest starting faction in NI. In addition to possessing only a handful of relatively poor and small settlements, the increasingly obsolete Viking tactics are beginning to show signs of strain. A total reliance on infantry means the Norse are at a disadvantage when facing every other faction but the English - and the English have actually out-Vikinged the Vikings, by adopting the Danish axe and establishing the fearsome Housecarl troops.

Still, it was only in the past year that Harald Hardrada beached his longships off the Yorkshire coast with the intent of making England part of his Norwegian empire. Norse dominance may be a memory, but it’s possible to make it a reality again.

Island-lord

The Norse begin play in possession of 6 settlements, all of which are at the lowest level of city development.

On the Orkney islands, Kirkjuvagr is your Royal Residence, and it’s also a Historic Capital. Kirkjuvagr will likely be the first of your homelands to grow to the next level, which is a good thing: a unique unit, Orcadian Spearmen, can only be trained here at the 2nd-level barracks. They may not look fancy, but Orcadian Spearmen are the answer to your problems with the Scots and their Royal Horsemen: used effectively, they are death to cavalry.

Thorsaa is just south, on the mainland of Scotland; Tunga lies to the west. As tiny, unwalled villages, these settlements are not much use as troop-training centers, and you’ll want to keep your enemies well away from them. Do that by expanding south and prioritizing growth - lower the taxes and avoid training here. Still, Muster Fields are a good build when you can afford it, to provide emergency troops if necessary.

Stjornavagr lies on the modern-day Isle of Lewis to the west. As it’s a safe island-settlement, you can focus on trade and farm upgrades rather than military buildings.

A little to the south is Dun Tuilm, which has some loyalty problems you‘ll want to address. Even though this is a small settlement like all your others, Dun Tuilm alone boasts a Stockade wall at game start, making it easily the most defensible of your possessions in the event of a siege. Even better, it is situated on a Natural Stronghold - meaning any assaults will have to pass through murderous shot from the towers and rams will have a harder time demolishing the gates, if they even make it that far. You can be confident that Dun Tuilm can hold out against most assaults; unfortunately, it is a little more vulnerable than it may look. The “island” it is situated on is actually connected to the mainland by a land bridge, so your enemies could march directly to the fort without the need for boats. Hopefully, you’ll be keeping them too distracted to contemplate such an invasion.

And far to the south, in the center of the Irish Sea, don’t forget that you also own Maughold, on the Isle of Man. Your heir and some troops are here, and mercenary Kerns can be recruited outside of town.

The Norse also possess a couple of ships: a Jarnbardi, the highest-class longship, lies just off Orkney, and a Snekkja is off the coast of Man. It’s a good idea to move these boats into port, where they’ll be safe from the odd pirate or AI attack. Naval power is one advantage for the Norse, and eventually you‘ll want to expand your fledgling navy: their ships have very low upkeep; in the case of Snekkjas, in fact, upkeep is free.

It’s a good thing, too, because the Norse also start the game losing money. It’s not quite as dramatic as what the Normans face, but you’ll still need to do some expansion before your finances even out.

Expansion and building. It takes money to make money, so on your first trip around your settlements, see what you can do to improve your holdings. Traders are obviously important, along with the ports that follow; slightly less obvious are the low-level farming upgrades, because they increase the population (and thus tax base) of your towns. Low or normal taxes are preferable in the early going, unless you only want to train Spearmen for the rest of the game.

You also have the option of building Christian or Pagan Shrines. Pagan Shrines have the great advantages of being cheap and providing a 20% law bonus - not only will you increase loyalty, you’ll also decrease corruption and the corresponding loss of income that occurs in towns far from your capital. The disadvantage of Pagan Shrines is that they can’t be upgraded.

Christian Shrines provide a more modest happiness boost, but they allow the construction of other Christian buildings which improve your trade. Since Christian and Pagan Shrines are mutually exclusive, you’ll have to make a choice. In the early years, since you don’t have much money anyway, it’s hard to go wrong with a Pagan Shrine. Eventually, you’ll want to experiment with Christianity in some of your cities - which is just as well, since your family is largely Christian anyway.

Note also that Christianity and Paganism have a smaller impact in NI than in VI2. The Norse, like the Scots, Welsh, and English, all espouse the political system of Customary Law - essentially, they run their own affairs. This means that you won’t have to worry about “converting” AI lands when you conquer. The only exception to this is the Normans, who have the option of establishing Feudal or Marcher Law in their settlements as well - so it’s possible that you might run into some trouble in the late game if you find you’re conquering lands held by them.

Just now, though, the Normans are at the opposite end of the map. Your first fight is with the Scots.

Early expansion

It’s one of the ironies of the Norse that you begin play at war with every faction but the Scots, and yet the Scots are the faction you’re certain to fight first.

There’s nothing you can do about this for awhile, as Emissaries are only available at the highest city level and you start with no agents. Other factions may come to you with offers of ceasefire; ask for trade rights and accept.

Still, it will be a few turns before the Scots come calling. You have enough time to gather your forces and deal with the nearby rebels.

You have 2 armies at game start: one with your faction leader, Paul Thorfinnson, in Kirkjuvagr, and another smaller force in Maughold with your faction heir. Send Paul and his forces across to the mainland, and see if you can manage to lend him some Vikingr from Thorsaa and Tunga without driving those towns into rebellion. In Scotland, keep a lookout for supplemental troops: Mercenary Rabble and Slingers are a cheap way to give you a bigger presence on the battlefield, and they serve nicely as garrison troops.

There are 3 rebel settlements further south, and it’s possible to get them all before the Scots do. Thingvollr and Inbhir Nis are, like Tunga and Thorsaa, unwalled and tiny; the real prize in the area is Farrais, east of Inbhir Nis. Farrais has a stockade wall, which makes it your defensive center in the region.

In fact, instead of taking all 3 rebel towns, you could bypass the nearest 2 and head straight for Farrais by ship. It’s a bit of a gamble; sea voyages always involve the risk of storm or other navies sinking your ships, and the income from even tiny villages is helpful at this stage. On the other hand, leaving a rebel presence in the area is a way to keep the Scots off your back for awhile; they’ll want to clean their house of rebels before taking you on. It also allows you to let the Scots do the dirty work of fighting and losing troops to rebels.

Maughold’s army, under your faction heir, can also be put to good use. Just north of Man, on the mainland of southwestern Scotland, is the town of Futerna; Anainn is further east. Both regions are held by rebels, but if you wait too long the Scots will snap them up.

Of the two, Futerna is more attractive, thanks to its nice, big stockade. If you take it, you’ll have a defensible corner of southern Scotland to call your own. But the rebels in the area can be tough, and may be too much for your Maughold army. Watch out for any Nobles in the rebel forces; they are deceptively strong soldiers, and the one tactic that would be guaranteed to scatter them - the cavalry charge - isn’t available to you.

Rather than fighting strong rebels, then, you may opt to fight Scots - wait for the Scots to take Futerna and leave it lightly defended (you can use your Snekkja to see roughly how many troops are in the town), and you may have an easier time.

After taking a few rebel settlements, you’ll be at war with the Scots whether or not you started it. Fights with the rebels should be straightforward for your starting troops (with the exception of the Futerna rebels), but the Scots are a proper kingdom with some soldiers that pose tactical problems. To address them, we’ll take a glance at Norse battlefield options.

On the battlefield

The Norse enjoy a somewhat truncated unit roster in comparison to other factions. Given the infantry focus and preponderance of units capable of shield-wall, the overriding principle for a Norse war-leader is to maintain a battle-line and hope to grind down his enemy in melee. In the early going, your Hirdmenn will be doing almost all of the grinding. Hirdmenn units that are not acting as the general of your army can form shield-wall, but in open battle it may be better to keep them out of it to meet threats quickly.

Spearmen are the basic unit of the line. For low-tier troops, their shield-wall and numbers make them reliable in this role, especially when supplemented with Vikingr (also in shield-wall) and flanked by more mobile troops. You’ll need to look to mercenaries to fill the “mobile” role: Mercenary Gall-Gaedhill work well here, if you can afford them; Mercenary Highland Infantry (also trainable at the 2nd-level tavern in Scotland) are much more affordable; and the pinnacle of your mercenary flankers are the Ostmenn, available in the highest-level cities. In the early going, though, flanking will be provided by Mercenary Rabble, extra Hirdmenn, or anything at hand.

Shield-wall is a great formation that allows your troops to absorb enemy attacks. It doesn’t protect against arrows or javelins, but can stop a charge and give your flankers time to maneuver. Stay in it when defending, and turn your battle-line to face the enemy if they try to outflank you. When attacking, however, keep your troops out of shield-wall until they get close to the enemy.

The Norse can field quite capable Archers as well; fortunately, you start with several units. Unfortunately, Archers can only be trained at the highest city level. Take care of the ones you start with!

Orcadian Spearmen and Mercenary Longspears both provide you with anti-cavalry options against the Royal Horsemen and Light Horsemen of the Scots. These troops can form a hedgehog, but are better kept in standard formation so they can swiftly move to where they’re needed. They are vulnerable to missiles, and as such are best kept behind the main line. They shine when killing horsemen; when you see Royal Horsemen dropping out of their saddles, you’ll be glad your Orcadians made the trip. Use any means necessary to entangle enemy cav in melee so your longspear types can be brought to bear against them.

Eventually, at the highest level barracks, you’ll be able to train your true elites: Armoured Spearmen and Huskarls. Armoured Spears can begin to replace your Spearmen and Vikingr, but you’ll always be training these lower-level units due to availability and expense. Still, with a battle-line stiffened by Armoured Spears, even your humblest units will perform better.

Huskarls wield two-handed axes that cleave through armour, making them a good unit for the flanks or second rank of the battle line, where they can more easily move to attack preferred targets like bodyguard types. In their VI2 incarnation, they bore war-flags into battle that inspired their troops; alas, no longer. Still, by the time you can train them, you’ll be able to afford a few units for your main army, and they’ll do you good service.

Dethroning the Scots

A major goal for the Norse is Scoine. As the capital of the Scots, this is not only one of your victory conditions; it’s also a Historic Capital, possession of which will increase loyalty in all your settlements. Apart from Kirkjuvagr, Scoine is likely the only Historic Capital you’ll come across on your path to victory, but if for some reason you want to reignite war with the Welsh (who will likely approach you with peace offers in the first few years), Aberffraw, south of Maughold, is also relatively close. Since the loyalty bonuses from Historic Capitals stack, it’s not a bad idea to consider Aberffraw if you find yourself with severe loyalty problems.

The terrain of Scotland can be a curse or a blessing for you. Horsemen are less likely to become tired climbing up slopes than infantry, but parking yourself on a steep hill is still an excellent way to level the odds against the attacking Scots. Be aware of the topography of the region before committing to an attack or defense.

Open field battles tend to favor cavalry, so to further even the odds you’ll want to do most of your fighting in cities or natural choke points such as river crossings. A line of shield-wall troops at an oblique angle to the crossing, with tough melee troops like Huskarls and Hirdmenn on the other side, can make easy work of enemy soldiers who get between them.

And the Norse advantage in cities (or, rather, the disadvantage experienced by cavalry armies in cities) means you’ll want to assault rather than wait for a relief army to attack you and make it a field battle.

Apart from Scoine, some cities to focus on include Dun Breatainn and Dunadd, both north of Futerna and both sited on natural strongholds. Your rams will have a very tough time here, and you’ll likely lose many troops in an assault, so make sure the garrison isn’t too strong for you, and bring plenty of Mercenary Rabble. The Rabble can man your rams, of which you may need as many as 4 or 5. Send them all toward a single gate at once - and keep in mind that you can’t command more than one ram to attack a gate at a time, so you’ll have to simply move the other rams to a spot just in front of the gate. With luck, one of your rams will run the gauntlet and do its work, allowing you to get troops into the gatehouse and nearby towers to turn those monster missiles on the enemy.

Taking Scoine, Dunadd, and Dun Breatainn should cripple the Scots, even if you haven’t grabbed the smaller settlements near Scoine which are relatively easy picking. If you’ve been decisive and lucky enough with your battles, you should be feeling the tide about to turn in your favor.

Endgame

Winning as the Norse requires Scoine, your homelands, and 30 regions total. That means if you follow the most logical course you’ll end up pushing south of Hadrian’s Wall and most likely fighting another faction or two.

Much depends on how the Norman invasion itself has gone. Sometimes the Normans are able to roll up through England relatively quickly; if so, you may be fighting them for your last few settlements. Otherwise, the English will likely hold the eastern part of Great Britain, while the Welsh push eastward from their homelands.

Of all these outcomes, it’s best for you to be fighting the English. Their lack of cavalry mirrors your own, and by the time you face them you should be able to handle what they throw at you - most likely Fyrdmen and Light Fyrd. Keep your Orcadian Spearmen and Mercenary Longspears at home if you fight the English.

But bring them along for the ride if you see lots of green or yellow to the south. Both the Welsh and Normans rely heavily on cavalry, and the Welsh Teulu and Norman Knights are fearsome units. After facing them on the battlefield, you may start longing for the good old days of fighting Scottish Royal Horsemen.

But if you end up at war with the Welsh, don’t forget the trademark Viking naval invasion. Many wealthy and well-built-up Welsh towns lie exposed to your longships, on the north and west coasts of Wales. If you can beach the ships and storm ashore to snatch a few settlements, you can get closer to victory in a hurry.

If facing the Normans, focus on their towns - just like you did with the Scots - and try to avoid field battles, where their cavalry can simply run you down. Naval invasions can work here as well, down the eastern side of England, but the longer distances involved leave your ships vulnerable to counterattack, with the possibility of a disastrous sinking of your army.

And if you do fight the Normans, stop for a moment and consider the vagaries of fate: for the Normans, who parlayed their early sea-borne raids into lasting gains in the north of France, are after all descendants of Scandinavian adventurers themselves.

Maybe it’s not such a bad time to be a Viking after all.

[Kilos Blackfield]

This was a great guide! I do just want to say one thing, however. Pagan Shrines can be upgraded to Pagan Sacrificial Shrines in cities, which allow you to train the fearsome berserkers! So they may be useful in troop training centers, seeing as they are also cheap and provide a large happiness bonus.