God of War is wrong... #draugr #norsemythology #skyrim

[royal-wolf]

I wish they were depicted better in games. They aren't simple zombies. They are much more terrifying

[NieroshaiTheSable]

Even burning them to ash wasn't good enough, as in one story a bull ate its ash and became possessed.

[harperna]

the use of negative space on this one is really striking, i love it

[BogOwl]

You gotta keep in mind that this is just how fantasy works. Tolkien took the name “elves” to mean what he wanted it to mean. Fantasy writers take mythological concepts and cut out bits to make it fit the mold that is their ideas.
Plus, in God of War, The Draugr take a few hits from a god that killed an entire pantheon… sooo they’re still pretty strong.

[Ihadthismate]

I only just realised that Tolkien’s Barrow Wights are most likely inspired by draugrs. Apparently they were called barrow wights in an 1869 translation of Grettis Saga. Given Tolkien borrowed a lot of names from Norse sagas, IIRC from a lot of Snorri Sturleson’s works, it doesn’t seem far fetched to me. Apologies for poor spelling, I only speak English

[TheLovelorn]

I think skyrim actually nailed it pretty well for something that is only loosely based on Norse myth.

The draugr walk their barrows, keep the candlelights burning, protect the skeletons from hungry skeevers, and occasionally serve a dragon priest or draugr overlord which, some could say have superhuman strength.

There’s even a nod to the occasional claw or tooth too, but could be a stretch. The reference is a dragon priest dagger named “Kahvozein’s Fang”. Again, it’s a reach but….

[magicaljagical]

I remember something about that is theorized in the world of Elder Scrolls that the Draugr that are still undead in the Crypts and tombs in Skyrim are cursed beings who had either done something horrible(like the sons of Gaulder) or had supported the Dragons during the war between the Rebelling Nords and the Dragonpriests.

[ImAnInnocentBoy]

Partner went through all this trouble just to be the “Well actually” Guy…

[kdevlogs]

i like how Valheim does it, cuz even though the Draugr are still essentially Zombies, the lore behind them is closer to the mythos, and the game makes you think about who each of the draugr might have been

[andreadimitrova]

Tbh that's what I like about God of war, nothing is really grand in front of Kratos, if you go in playing with this knowledge it's even more heartbreaking ending what order and ideas existed before you, imo it kind of fits with his detachment from godhood and life issues. However I'd love to see as well some accurate representation for sure, maybe in a compleltely seperate game dedicated to all the nooks and crannies of Norse mythology, it really deserves it😃
Awesome piece, I love your work as always and I find your style incredibly inspiring, as an art student you helped me experiment with creating more expressive illustrations last semester when it was difficult to find my motivation, I'm really thankful for that!

[namethej]

Requiem Mod for Skyrim makes Draugr a force to be reckoned with. Can't hit Bleak Falls until lvl 20 aboout.

[Perceptionreflection]

In the Elder Scrolls they actually worship and maintain the tombs, serving the Dragonpriests. They have deep Nordic lore within the game and have appeared in other ES games than Skyrim. They AREN'T actually just murder fodder.

[jamesalexander]

The northman had one in it, he was own as the mound dweller. Grey/blue skin and looked to be 8 foot tall, it through a 6 foot viking around like it was nothing and the whole battle was in a vision

[DeepSketch]

"those who walk after" goes hard

[vralla]

Drauger in Lithuanian means friend so I was always confused playing Skyrim, before I started reading the lore on them.

[AveragePootis]

In Skyrim, the later level draugrs are so bad ass, with their shouts and damage, on higher difficulty they actually put up a fight

[Manfromthenorth]

To be fair, Drauger in Skyrim are only drauger in name since they along with Nords as a whole are only based off Vikings and not actual vikings.

Drauger are the reanimated mummified remains of Nords that act as keepers and gaurds of the tomb they're kept in. They're more like the mummy guards you see in a lot of old horror movies based on the pyramids of egypt. Thats just what Drauger are in this world.

Its like how in Skyrim Dragons are built like Wyverns, that may seem like a mistake for us because in our world western style dragons have 4 legs and 2 wings.

But in the Elder Scrolls world Dragons are just like that, Wyverns dont exist. Dragons in that world just have wings and 2 legs.

[tenaoconnor]

I love your Art and the stories that you tell 😊 we need to remember the stories

[thomasfrye]

I mean, I think TES does right because it isn’t claiming to be the real world folklore/mythological draugr. It’s simply the name given to the anointed undead used to defend ancient crypts and temples. Most of the mythological and civilisation bases for TES lore are very loose bases, focusing more on incorporating certain interesting elements with the established world.

I haven’t seen how God of War did things, but they have less of an excuse because other than the outright mentioned differences, my understanding is that they follow very closely to real myths

[wisewizard]

In defense of skyrim they are not simple axe fodder. They use magic and various weapons, and they even can use Thu'um