Clan of the Owl announced for Northgard

A new Viking clan that enjoys a good book

This week Shiro announced a new clan for Northgard called Vordr, clan of the owl. For those unaware, Northgard is an RTS based on Viking mythology and features multiple single-player campaigns and clans to use in multiplayer and AI skirmishes. 

They are a mythological clan based on the myth of the three Norns who lived in one of the wells under Yggdrasil, protecting it as wardens. These three Norns feature in this DLC and can be used to lead the clan, but guide the clan in different ways. One will help improve military might, the other protection and growth, and third will help gain knowledge quicker.

What is really interesting about this clan is that the player can switch between each leader multiple times throughout the game to switch focus to what is needed at that time, which could make this clan very versatile. 

At the beginning of any game as the clan of the owl, your starting territory will feature a Yggdrasil building. Here, you can assign women to become Norns, which are a replacement for scouts. They not only explore and map out the terrain but also play a key role in improving diplomatic relations in a unique way which hasn't been disclosed yet. Additionally, they have the ability to interact with and benefit from mystical buildings like lorestones outside your territory. 

To play with, the clan of the owl has significant gameplay differences to the traditional Viking clans, and looks to shake-things-up for Northgard veterans. 

To play as the clan of the owl isn't just another group of axe-swinging Vikings. They've decided that trees are friends, not firewood, so no more chopping down trees for wood. Instead, forests are now like giant libraries, giving out passive lore instead of logs and if you decide to build their relic you can change upgraded territory to forests to generate even more lore. Without all this need for wood, winters should be a fair bit easier to manage and it also means buildings are now built with a bit of magical help. 

They've also decided to not harm animals. Deer and fish get a free pass, turning these areas into something else. This leaves farms as their main food generating areas though the developers did mention there may be other ways to make food. Yes, before you ask, no you can't slaughter sheep...

Something that may cause some interesting strategies is the ability to place Yggdrasil branches in areas around the map. These can be placed to aid the player and allies, or cause problems for enemies. However, details surrounding this mechanic are vague with hopefully more information being revealed in the run up to its release. 

It's probably pretty clear that the clan of the owl focuses heavily on lore to the point they could be considered the scholars of Northgard, but it looks like they've put theory to practice by giving them a brand-new lore tree. Check it out below – this tree is loaded with nine unique knowledges and three unique blessings, some of which can be picked more than once to stack those bonuses.

Accompanying the DLC is a free update which introduces a lobby finder for multiplayer matches and a significant change in how lore victories work. Gone are the days sitting back and awaiting a passive lore victory (or nervously awaiting destruction hoping no one notices you creeping up the victory table), now it's an active decision to pursue a lore victory.

Lore victories will now activate earlier in the game, but it's not a guaranteed win anymore. Instead, it unlocks a monument which when placed it generates a signal to other players that you're gunning for a lore victory. Also, it will begin to use newly generated lore to show devotion and puts a pause on unlocking new knowledge. Once enough devotion to the gods has been shown only then will you achieve a lore victory. It's worth mentioning monuments can be destroyed by other clans to halt your progress, but can be rebuilt.

Curently those are all the details for this DLC and update. However, I will leave you with the below screenshot of a new mythical beast we currently have no details about...