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Norsca 04

An example of a Norse Longship as depicted in concept art for Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning.

A Norse Longship, sometimes also called a Wolfship or a Dragonship,[2] is a Norscan Ship of the Line that is used by the Norscan tribes for commerce, exploration, and warfare.

Total War Norsca Ship Render 1

Norse Longships as rendered for Total War: Warhammer.

Longships are long, narrow, and light, with a shallow-draft hull designed for speed. The ship's shallow draft allows navigation in shallow waters and permits beach landings, while its light weight enables it to be carried over portages or used bottom-up for shelter in camps. Longships are also double-ended, the symmetrical bow and stern allowing the ship to reverse direction quickly without a turn around; this trait is particularly useful in the north, where icebergs and sea ice pose hazards to navigation. Longships are fitted with oars along almost the entire length of the ship itself. Most also make use of a rectangular sail on a single mast, which is used to replace or augment the effort of the rowers, particularly on long journeys.[1a][1b]

Longships are crewed by thralls -- the lowest, slave class of the Norscans. Despite their lowly status, thralls are as bloodthirsty as the rest of Norscan society, and relish the chance to suspend the monotony of their daily life for the excitement of battle. When the Norscans organise themselves for a major battle, and launch a full scale warfleet, it is the thralls that make up the bulk of the fighting troops in the fleet.[1a][1b]

A squadron of three longships may lash their vessels together to make a kind of fighting platform. Once lashed together, the crews act as if they were a single vessel, defending or boarding as one. However, each individual ship can be fired at and therefore sunk. If one of their number is sunk, the crew of that ship might move to one of the ships that has not been sunk, so long as there is room for them in the crew.[1b]

Miniatures[]

Sources[]

  • 1: Man O' War - Warhammer - Sea of Blood Rulebook (Specialty Game)
    • 1a: pg. 51
    • 1b: pg. 52
  • 2: Legend of Sigmar Omnibus (Novel) by Graham McNeill

Gallery[]

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