Great Heathen Army

**Great Heathen Army** is a Northmen storyline quest which is started after The Fall of Pictavia or by finishing Kingslayer when you have at least 100 power points for your homestead and finished Ravaging of the Wretched Heathens. Consult the homestead strategy guide for more information about acquiring 100 power points.
The quest can also be started by siding with Dun Phris during Fort of the Thicket.

## Conquerer

In case the thegn made an alliance with Dun Phris, the player has to travel to Orkneyjar and meet with Skallagrim, who has been making plans about conquering both nations since the news of Dun Phris reached the island.

The player can then decide which nation they attack under their guidance, while Skallagrim will attack the other one. This is like picking either Northumbria or Pictavia as ally.

In case the player goes after Pictavia, the quest Into the Dark is started, or else Punching Through is started.

## Betraying the victorious party

Before attending the victory feast of the winning faction, you should sail to Orkneyjar and talk to Skallagrim about the attack. You can either continue the attack or cancel it at the last moment.

Note: if you go to the victory feast without talking to Skallagrim first, you will complete the quest and make either the Picts or Northumbria your political allies and receive the acheivement: "Hero of Northumbria or Hero of Pictavia" depending on which nation you helped.

After this you can still go and talk to Skallagrim to start the invasion, but this will do nothing as the feast is already over, so you'll be unable to complete the quest. It is beleived this is a bug, because there is no storyline to "normally" invade Northumbria or the Picts after you've completed the victory feast. (18/08/2020) You can only complete "The great heathen army" quest if you either sided with Dhun Phris or betray Northumbria/Pictavia during the victory feast. It must also be noted that you will not receive the aforementioned "hero of .." acheivements if you betray your allies during the feast.

## Northumbria

In case you betray Northumbria, you attend the victory feast as normally. But instead of feasting wildly, you can poison the wine a moment before you hear the first horn sounding faintly. When it's clear that Eoforwic is being attacked by Vikings, a battle starts. If Morcant is in your party, he will leave the moment the attack begins. Since most the guests are unarmored, the battle is easily won. In case you incapacitated Aethelred, you can decide to kill after the battle or spare him.

After defeating the Northumbrians in the hall, you can loot the church. You will find Morcant guarding the entrance to the church and he can't be convinced to step aside. You can either knock him out of if you have at least medium strength or you can kill him. On the altar inside the church, you can find a pile of 18,500 valuables.
After looting the church, you find Skallagrimr outside the church. Talk to him to finish the quest.

## Rewards

### Northumbria path

* 18500 valuables at least.
* 5 skill points
* The player character is now king of Northumbria and Pictavia

By cancelling the attack, you lose 10 reputation with the Northmen and Ribe and you lose 20 reputation with the Jelling faction.

## Achievements

When this quest is finished, you receive the Wrath of the Northmen achievement.

## Trivia

The title of this quest refers to the invasion of Britain by a large force of vikings in 865. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great\_Heathen\_Army