Jötnar and Yōkai: A Viking Lost in Japan (Looking for F character)

[That One Dingus]

So, I've had this idea stuck in my head for a while of a Viking (Norse, Danish, whatever) who becomes stranded in fantasy Japan. The problem is that the Viking heyday only coincides with the Heian Period, while it seems like most folks on here are only interested in the Edo and Meiji eras. If you're the kind of person who is okay with playing loose with time or can rock Heian Japan, then fantastic, but I propose that we can offer a supernatural explanation for his presence in a later Japan. Maybe his longship gets lost trying to navigate a magical northern passage around Canada and he is the only survivor? Ragnarok has come and gone and he somehow survived the end of Midgard? A later Dane or Norwegian who goes on Crusade and ends up taking a very long ride through the slave market onto a Mongol ship during the first invasion in Tokugawa's reign?

Regardless of the logistics, I find the idea fascinating: a tall, pale-skinned foreigner with beard and hair like flame whose very appearance strikes fear into poor Japanese farmers, regardless of whether he intends them harm or not. This is not a power fantasy, but a confrontation of cultures as his raider mentality and love of stories and boasting clashes with a refined and educated female character serving as a foil. We can either have some magic that allows him to understand and be understood or it could be a plot point that they learn some of each other's language.

Like I said, this would not be a straight-up historical what-if scenario, but a Japan with its fair share of monsters and dark magic. This Viking finds battle aplenty and glory for the taking in facing such monsters. My own knowledge of Japanese folklore and monsters is admittedly very shallow, but if my partner wishes it, we could introduce complications... by which I mean Norse monsters appearing throughout Japan. That would create a mystery as to why creatures like trolls and frost giants are invading. Perhaps the Viking's arrival is seen as an omen of doom and he has to live with a target painted on his back.

As for what kinds of characters I would like to play against, I do have some suggestions:

• A down-on-her-luck Japanese peasant woman finds him lying in driftwood on the beach... her future husband and protector.
• An assassin with a major grudge against the nobility finds an unexpected ally, pawn, and mate in a foreigner who fears no samurai.
• On the flip side, perhaps he crosses blades with a female samurai and finds himself enthralled by her grace and beauty.
• A kitsune marks him as an all-you-can-eat buffet... and he is happy to oblige, unaware of her true nature.
• A female oni finds herself lonely and bored. The local villages are too terrified to defy her and no warrior has proven even a mild challenge. When she hears of a fire-bearded monster with a huge axe scaring the villagers, she becomes territorial and seeks out the intruder. Along with a fight, she finds a worthy suitor who loves to drink, brawl, and rut as much as she does.

If this idea interests you, or if you have any questions, please send me a PM. I'd love to talk!