SKADI

Intermediate Deity

AKA: Skade, Skathi, Skaoi, Snow Queen, Ice Queen, Wolf Queen of Winter
Alignment: Chaotic Good
Worshiper Alignments: CG, NG, CN, N
Portfolio: Winter, mountains, hunting, cold wilderness, independence, rightful vengeance
Worshipers: Mountain folk, hunters, winter travelers, revenge seekers, druids, free spirits, independent women, cold environment dwellers
Domains: Animal, Earth, Liberation, War, Weather
Holy Symbol: Bow and arrows
Favored Weapon: Long bow
Status in Svenheim:
Holy Sites in Svenheim:

Relations: Ex-Wife to Njord and current Wife to Uller

Skadi is the goddess of mountains, winter, hunting, independence and rightful vengeance. She is a serious Goddess whom lives atop a snow-covered mountain from where she frequently skis across her winter realms to hunt and travel. Skadi, beautiful like the rest of the Gods, is a descendant of Frost giants and is unique with her long white hair and piercing ice blue eyes. She is never without her bow, a symbol of the hunt, and with it she never misses her mark. There is no finer archer in all of Asgard or Midgard, including that of her husband, Uller. Skadi is as powerful as a major god but prefers a lower rank among her peers so that she may enjoy more freedom to travel and hunt rather than be tied to more responsibility.

When the Gods caused the death of her Frost giant father Thjassi, Skadi armed herself and traveled to their home at Asgard, intent on vengeance. Interestingly, despite the battle prowess represented by the Asgardian Gods, Skadi was more than a match for the all the gods combined. And whence they realized this the Gods were forced to make peace with her. This makes her easily not only the greatest archer but the greatest warrior of all even though she refuses to claim warrior prowess as one of her domains.

Victorious, Skadi demanded two things on the Gods: that they make her laugh and that she be allowed to choose a husband from among them. The first condition was accomplished by the trickster Loki, who tied his testicles to the beard of a billy goat! It was a contest of screeching, until the rope snapped and Loki landed, screaming with pain, on Skadi’s knee. Skadi laughed.

Next, all the male Gods lined up, and Skadi’s eyes were masked. She could still peek under her mask and Skadi intended to select her mate simply by examining his legs from the knees down. When she’d found the most beautiful feet she was sure they belonged to Balder. Skadi flung off her mask and found she’d picked the sea god Njord, one of the more unattractive and older gods. His feet were washed and sculpted by the endless waves of the sea and thus made them the most attractive of the men. So she went off to live in the god’s ocean home, upset but sticking to her bargain.

Skadi was miserable in the ocean with Njord. “I couldn’t sleep a wink,” Skadi said in a famous eddic poem, “on the bed of the sea, for the calling of gulls and mews.” The couple moved to Thrymheim, Skadi’s mountain palace, but the water god was as unhappy there as Skadi had been in the water. Thereupon they agreed on an equitable dissolution, and Skadi took a new husband, one more suitable to her lifestyle: Ullr, the male god of hunting.

Although a good goddess, Skadi has a dark side that represents the darkness that winter brings upon humanity. In the winter blood is often required as a sacrifice for her. Animal blood will do but the blood of enemies would be an even more fitting gift to her.

In one bizarre old myth Skadi is depicted as a fierce trolless whom castrates defeated male warriors and collects the penises of heroes! In the far past Skadi may have had an evil (and kinky) streak but this is all behind her now, before the days of joining the ranks of the mighty Norse Gods.

— Some of Skadi’s information borrowed from hranajanto.com

Clergy & Worship of Skadi

Skadi has a fair number of female clergy but she also has male priests attracted by her martial prowess. Druids whom live in colder climates are also numerous among her followers. The priests wear blue and white with silver trim, silvery chain shirts or studded leather are worn as armor. Women usually wear short white hunting skirts, even in the cold but with fur leggings. Priests always carry bows and they will be mighty bows if the priest has a strength bonus and can afford to purchase such a bow.

Her holiest day is that of the winter solstice. Skadi rather prefers that her followers have more time to pursue the freedom to hunt and enjoy the winter outdoors than spend time giving her praise. That being said her clergy consider all days of winter her holy days and give reverence to Skadi by doing what she enjoys best, hunting and winter activities. Sacrifices made are usually hunted game or one of her holy items; bows, arrows, skis or snowshoes. Skadi considers the outdoors during winter to be her holy sites. The more snow, mountains and winter beauty of the area the more favored it is for her worship. Only during non-winter seasons does Skadi accept worship from inside one of her temples.

The war domain, although a recognized domain of her religion, is little used by or preached of by her clergy. But the understanding that Skadi is the greatest warrior in all of Asgard, even if she humbly does not advertise such, is enough to attract a number of Skadi priests (mostly male) to practice the war domain. These more militant priests are the ones whom are tasked to carry out the rightful vengeance aspect of Skadi’s portfolio.

Bows, wolves, snowshoes and skis are all held in high regard by Skadi and are revered as holy items by her priests.

There is no doubt that the long bow is Skadi’s favored weapon and since she has no equal in her bowman-ship this trait is passed down to her clergy in the form of every priest gaining an divine bonus of +1 to hit and damage with the use of any bow (not crossbows). This bonus increases by +1 every 4th level, so +2 at 4th, +3 at 8th, +4 at 12th, etc.

Because one of Skadi’s earliest incarnations was that of the cold wind blowing down from the mountains her priests are bestowed with the gift to create a blast of frigid wind once per day. This ability is identical to the spell gust of wind with the addition that the wind blast does cold damage equal to the priest’s level x2. If a victim passes the Fortitude save then the cold damage is halved.

Once per day a cleric of Skadi can use, or bestow upon an ally, the ability to fire an arrow from a bow and gain a +1 insight bonus to hit, per cleric level, for one round. Using this ability is a free action and must be declared before the roll to hit is made. Furthermore, during the one round duration the arrows fired have their critical range doubled and the insight bonus is used to help confirm critical hits. This ability does not work for crossbows.

A Skadi priest is blessed with a cold resistance equal to her cleric level. At 20th level she becomes immune to cold damage.

The skill survival is always a class skill for Skadi clergy and they receive a +2 insight bonus for survival rolls when hunting, tracking or surviving in one of these climates: cold, winter or mountainous.