Question: Jinn vs Valkyries! Who would win in a fight? Who make better allies?
That depends completely on what you want out of your allies! Jinn and valkyries are very different beings with very different skillsets, so what a valkyrie is good at seldom overlaps with what a jinni is good at. Different Scions may find that one suits them better than the other.
Valkyries are creatures of the afterlife, warrior maidens with a mission and a burning loyalty to those who command them. They're strongly associated with Death, can be very helpful for those that need a little Psychopomp on command, and can ride forth as fierce warriors on their Scion's behalf. They're great companions for Scions who often go into battle themselves or who deal closely with the dead and departed.
Jinn, on the other hand, are ephemeral and self-centered creatures who operate on a separate wavelength from mortals and are famous for their powers of trickery, deception and stealth. They certainly can deal damage when they put their minds to it, but they're better as pranksters or possessors, manipulators and honorable thieves. Scions who are manipulators themselves or who often have to go on stealth missions, provide distractions or socially flummox others will probably find jinn much more useful.
These aren't set in stone, of course - Birthright Followers often take on extra characteristics over time to better suit their Scions' needs, and even normal valkyries can be romantics or normal jinn fierce warriors. They have individual personalities, so while the race as a whole may tend one way, a Storyteller may have specific characters with very different outlooks, and PCs can, of course, always try to sway legendary creatures to see things their own way.
As for who'd win in a fight of an equal-Legend valkyrie versus a jinni, the valkyrie would probably win in a straight-up combat, but the jinni would undoubtedly attack from stealth and make it hard to get a fix on him, so anything could happen. The jinni's probably better-equipped to whittle her down, especially with well-placed firey immolation, but the valkyrie might call up a horde of the dead to aid her and then it's anyone's game.
I kind of think a Valkyrie could be pretty helpful for a Scion of Loki, who might be more of a trickster, personally...
ReplyDeleteBecause, well, she'd be able to help out in a fight, and could act as a decent bodyguard, while the Scion pulls out all the ways to creatively mess up the opponents without swinging a sword at them.
...Plus, yes, I admit I find it funny to see the interactions between the Scion, and a very serious Valkyrie, as they have hijinx across the world.
Having a serious character who can come along and always act as the serious one also makes it pretty fun!
Also, you know, the whole "strong loyalty" - I figure that's a plus.
DeleteOh, definitely - taking a Follower with different skills from your own can also always help when something comes up that you aren't personally equipped to deal with. :)
DeleteHey, since this talks about Valkyries, I might as well take the chance to ask - is it true that Valkyries were actually meant to be riding wolves, but recent stories (as in, after belief in the Aesir faded away) changed it into them riding on horses?
ReplyDeleteNot that I'm aware of. Valkyries are specifically said to be riding horses in at least a couple of the poems of the Poetic Edda (I seem to remember something about the horses' manes causing water to flow down into the valleys as they pass, or something? I'm sorry, I'm away from my books at the moment), and while I do recall a wolf being referred to as a mount at one point, it belonged to a trollwife, not a valkyrie. I know the only ancient Norse art we have of riders (vaklyrie or otherwise) always depicts them on horses, not wolves.
DeleteRiding wolves are a nice image, but I don't know of them being particularly associated with the valkyries very often.