Draugr
Draugr are corpse-hulks guarding their hoards in burial mounds. They swell to giant size, wield sorcery and stench, and crush intruders; only decapitation, burning, and scattering the ashes to the sea grant rest.
Story beats
- 1) A greedy or restless warrior is buried with treasure; envy or improper rites keep his spirit bound.
- 2) Rumors of gold draw thieves who find the corpse animated, swollen, and stronger than in life.
- 3) The draugr can shape-shift, ride the night, or send nightmares to drive people mad.
- 4) Heroes wrestle the undead, cut off its head, burn the body, and cast the ashes into deep waters to end the haunting.
Context & symbolism
Norse sagas use draugr to enforce burial taboos and condemn greed inside kin groups. Their barrows mark liminal ground—wealth piled up for the dead, yet tempting the living. The required ritual disposal underscores communal effort against lingering avarice.
Draugr also serve as narrative bosses in sagas, testing a hero’s strength and courage before rewarding rightful inheritance, often through spectral horses or weapons gained after victory.
Motifs
- Swollen corpse strength and sea-blue skin
- Barrow mounds filled with treasure
- Nightmare-sending and shape-shifting
- Decapitation and sea scattering as final rites
Use it in play
- Drain a flooded barrow while a draugr prowls its upper halls, forcing time pressure.
- Retrieve an heirloom by wrestling the undead guardian in smoke-filled darkness.
- Break a drought by returning a greedy chieftain’s treasure to the sea, while kin object.
- Nightmare-plagued village asks for charms; confronting the draugr ends the psychic assault.