Maces And Talons Game

'Maces and Talons, Part 1' is an episode from Dragons: Race to the Edge, and is the twelfth episode of Season 2 of Dragons: Race to the Edge. It was released on Netflix on January 8, 2016. 1 Overview 2 Plot 3 Trivia 4 Cast 4.1 Characters 4.2 Enemies 4.3 Dragon Characters 4.4 Dragons 5 Locations 6 Objects 7 Events 8 References 9 Site Navigation During a battle between the Dragon.

Q:What game do you think Maces and Talons is?Is that something like the chess?Or do you think it even exists somewhere in the past?

I imagine “Maces and Talons” is a game of the RTTE writers’ invention. However, I also suspect it is based off of real board games.

Most clearly to us modern viewers, “Maces and Talons” evokes something like chess. There are two players who try to conquer each others’ “army.” The different pieces on the board represent different types of fighters, and the different pieces appear to have different roles.

We know one of the pieces is the Viking chief, “the honorable Viking chief,” as Viggo calls him. When Dagur and Ryker play, their men actually acting it out, Dagur and Ryker also mention a Viking king (maybe the same thing as the chief?), a longship, and a dragon hunter’s kingship. Ryker says that there are eight hunters in the game, as well. This suggests roles like what we have in chess - knights, pawns, queens, etc.

According to this screencap, other game pieces appear to include a ship, a mace, a dragon, other warriors, and, of course, the traitor.

What’s interesting is that, historically, Vikings have had board games. Specifically, it’s suspected that Vikings might have had an early precursor to chess called Shatranj which they picked up from trade in Constantinople. Being able to play board games was considered to be something of an accomplishment and show of esteem - much like Fishlegs says, “Maces and Talons was designed to test the abilities and decision making expertise of Viking chiefs in the heat of battle.” There is a parallel that we could draw here to actual Viking epics where skill at board games was considered as great of an ability as physical strength.

It’s possible that the Viking board game hnefatafl (played around the fourth to twelfth centuries, during Hiccup’s theoretical lifetime) was used as some inspiration for “Maces and Talons.” This game is, to quote “a game of skill in which a king tries to escape, with the help of his men, from a numerous besieging army.” It is a chess-like strategy game, the concept similar to what we know about Maces and Talons. I think it is EXTREMELY possible that Maces and Talons is inspired by this old Viking strategy board game. Maces and Talons does seem to be a game where one side chooses to be a Viking chief or Viking king, while the other side - the side more “morally gray” according to Viggo - seems to be acting in a different role.

Maces And Talons Game Rules

The game board for hnefatafl is maaaybe set up in a similar way to Maces and Talons:

Source: here.

Maces And Talons Game Rules

If you peep into the box from the RTTE screencaps, Maces and Talons appears to be set up with four sides and then a central island. It’s somewhat a similar concept. You could argues there’s inspiration.

The last cool thing is the game pieces look slightly akin to some actual historical Viking chess pieces. This is “the honorable Viking chief” from RTTE:

And here are some late Twelfth Century game pieces from Scandinavia:

Source: here.

They’re not exactly alike, but there’s enough of a fun resemblance to consider there might have been some thought and research into the development of Maces and Talons.

This game from RTTE appears to be its own unique thing. Still, I imagine that they drew inspiration from Viking board games like the one I brought up.

Note: I am not a historian, nor sociologist, nor archaeologist, and essentially am not an expert in ancient culture. If someone with more expertise wants to weigh in with their ideas, I would love to learn!

Maces And Talons Game

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When I announced my return to the blog, several people asked me if I would write more about RttE. Well, this is my attempt to do so! Haha, I must confess I have not gone super in depth with the tv series, but last season was good, so it deserves more than the one post I gave it! The subject of this post will be Viggo Grimborn. There were two things I've seen people going nuts over after the series: Viggo Grimborn, and Hiccstrid. Since I'm not all that good at analyzing Hiccstrid, I thought I'd give our new frightening villain a shot. Hope you enjoy it.

Viggo is a fairly interesting villain. He is not exactly an original type of character; after all there are many stories with a nefarious mastermind as the antagonist. However, he is a new type of challenge for Hiccup and the riders. They have been tricked in the past before, but they've never had anyone who could predict their movements three steps ahead. He's good at one of the things Hiccup has always been good at: being clever. The problem is... so far Viggo has proven himself cleverer. It's a battle of brain against brain, and Hiccup seems unfortunately outclassed.

Talon Board Game

Maces And Talons Part 1

I think Viggo is a very realistic, organic feeling villain. Why in a time of vikings, dragons, and brute force, would a man grow up and develop his brain over his brawn. A plan is only as good as those who can see it through, so being clever won't get you anywhere unless you can get help from others. However, I do think I have a guess on why Viggo became the way his is (this is probably pure speculation). I believe Viggo chose strategy over strength because of his older brother Ryker Grimborn. Ryker deserves a post all to himself, but I will at least mention him here. Ryker is a natural born warrior. He's strong, cunning, and extremely proficient with his weaponry. He would have been the perfect fit in a society of hunters. Viggo is the younger brother. He's smaller, soft spoken, and the younger of the two. I believe this may have greatly impacted Viggo. It is not uncommon for the younger brother to look up to the older and feel that they could never fill his shoes. So, instead of trying to be like Ryker, perhaps Viggo went to opposite rout. He practiced what he was good at. Whatever the history may be, Viggo came out the as the deadlier or the two brothers. He's been plating a strategy game called Maces and Talons for waaaaaaaaay too long, and it has turned his brain into a tactical killing machine. Though he is younger, Viggo now leads the hunters, including his brother. And, I think I'll add, he clearly relishes doing it.

Viggo has several edges on Hiccup, and all of these will pose a serious problem for our hero when he tries to bring the hunter down. One thing that Viggo made quite clear when he was playing a game of Maces and Talons with Dagur is that he is willing to sacrifice almost anything for the sake of victory. He will give up his entire army to a trap if only he can kill his enemy's king and win the match. He's the epitome of cold calculation. While his enemies are reveling in their victory, he slips around behind and knifes them in the back. I am not sure whether he would actually sacrifice his own brother (he might! I am almost certain Ryker would not sacrifice him, though), but he is willing to pay a much higher price in the game than Hiccup is. Hiccup is only ok with sacrificing one person... himself. That may be honorable, but tactically speaking his lone sacrifice will probably not be enough to save his plethora of friends and loved ones. Hiccup has many emotional weaknesses. He can't stand to put his friends in lethal danger. Whenever Toothless or Astrid are in trouble, he will do anything to save them. He is clever... but he is guided by his emotions and his love. This is a 'weakness' that Viggo may exploit. The other strength that Viggo has which outclasses Hiccup is his tactical thinking. Hiccup makes plans, and he adapts them mid-battle (which is impressive), but Viggo has made plan upon counter-plan, upon counter-plan. This villainous strategist will have every angle he can see covered, and Hiccup simply has never dealt with anyone like this before. The final thing I noticed that Viggo has an edge on Hiccup is his discernment of motives. Hiccup was fooled in the past by Heather, but Viggo guesses her game almost immediately. He's not compassionate or empathetic, he's analytical. He weighs people and quickly roots out traitors. Hiccup is in much greater danger of being betrayed than Viggo.

So, what hope does our hero have in this deadly game of Maces and Talons. Viggo's goal is the extermination of thousands of dragons, so Hiccup must stop him. I would say I can see one real weakness in Viggo. He is playing a game. He respects Hiccup as an entertaining opponent, but Hiccup sees Viggo as a force that must be stopped. The other thing is that games have rules. Viggo has planned for everything in his playing field, but the real world isn't a board game. Viggo can only plan for the factors he knows about. Unfortunately for Hiccup, Viggo has been hunting dragons and battling whits for many years, so he knows quite a lot. Still, unlike Viggo, Hiccup has been befriending dragons and learning their secrets. One day one of those secrets may surprise Viggo, and before that tactician can adjust his intricate plans, he will have lost. He is dealing with a world that has too many variables even for him. He is trying to be the loan player, moving his pawns, but if he slips up... how many of those pawns will leap in to rescue him? Maybe one... but compared to Hiccup that is very few people willing to put their life on the line. Hiccup's weakness is also his strength. He has friends and loved one... heck, he has a NIGHT FURY as his best friend! When the playing field eventually shocks Viggo, he may find himself in front of Toothless's business end.

Maces And Talons Game

So, I hope you guys liked this. I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Viggo in the future! C'mon out next season!