Comments on: Running Amok vs. Going Berserk: a practical guide

By: Orik the red bear

Orik the red bear — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 15:34:44 +0000

I took some LSD, forgot about it, then played James Bond “Golden Eye” v.s. mode against 3 different people and killed them 3 to 1 odds most times. Only to remember I was tripping after retreating outside to smoke a cigarette. Upon which time I rediscovered the LSD I had taken was indeed still potent enough to effect me ( it had been left in a hot car for several days so I was not sure if it was still effective). Not like I was in a real battle. Just a thought.

By: Halvor

Halvor — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 02:40:00 +0000

Let me first state that there are a lot of misconceptions about berserkers. One of them is that they ate toadstool mushrooms and had fits of rage during some sort of psychedelic trip.

Toadstool. It’s a mildly poisonous mushroom with mind-altering compounds, bu it lacks psychedelic properties. Accounts state that most people who ingested this would become severely enraged, froth at the mouth and show great feats of physical strength. It is likely that toadstool was ingested by non-berserkers to get into a good fighting mood, but as with steroids, it comes with a price, such as accute kidney failure.

Etymology of “berserk”. “Serk” is the norse word for shirt. The “ber” part is a point of some dispute, and earlier reseachers would translate this to “bear”, as in bear-shirt, but it is much more likely that it’s a short form of “berre”, wich translates to “only”. That is, berserkers would go into battle without chainmail in just their shirts, and even without a shield in some instances.

It is likely the berserkers were well-trained warriors in their own rights, but all the stories of berserkers state in no uncertain terms that these are large men, honorable, calm, rational, kind and highly respected in their society. It is said of them that they are Odins men and that it is Odin himself that gives the berserker a God-like rage and strength on the battle field. It is also mentioned that, after the battle, berserkers would often have to be carried off the field, as they would be completely spent, and they might sleep for days. It is very likely that berserkers would consider toadstool ingestion to be cheating, unnecessary and an inhibitor in their connection to Odin.

Going berserk is, therefore, without any protection, going into a battle while in a trance-like state, channeling the full fury of Odin.

By: suomynonA

suomynonA — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:16:00 +0000

Going berserk is much more than eating a shroom or drinking liqour/ it’s a type of meditative trance one gets used to going into and after a lot of practice it can be attained fairly easily with the only occasional side effect of real rage. Although the same results are not always guaranteed. Final Fantasy 7’s berserk is a good example of this because you glow red in real life as well jk

By: lame name

lame name — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 15:56:00 +0000

reCAPTCHA – out cupids Which is what happened to both amoks and berserkers

By: SonOfAGunn

SonOfAGunn — Thu, 27 Sep 2007 02:44:25 +0000

I think as far as berserkers go its a combination of two things, One which I forgot the exact name for involves the fact that if you look at professional sports players they are freaks, their bodies are naturally far stronger, quicker, and their reactions are quicker as well. So think of these Berserkers as the NFL players going against say a high school football team. Then add the fact that they would work themselves into a frenzy, which has been medically proven. So now you have a group of NFL players competley jacked up on addrenaline, going up against a high school team whos is ready to crap themselves. Take that and change it over into actual battle and you have norse berserkers.

By: thequack

thequack — Wed, 05 Sep 2007 20:32:22 +0000

doc
nice try if you ate anything that even resembled any strain of mushrooms the last thing you’d touch is Twinkies and Doritos. in fact that combination would probably cause you to involuntarily evacuate your stomach considering the nausea one would normally experience as well as the unbalanced ph that is most certainly achieved in all cases of ingestion

as far as the ax throwing aim and considering they were seasoned vets. i’d say with my experience, my balance and accuracy could not be any more dialed in then when i’ve traveled the road that is psilocybin and psilocin. so i wouldn’t doubt that neat feat for a minute
great article

By: Mickey

Mickey — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 18:33:27 +0000

I’m half Scandinavian… Half Italian..

It’s funny..

I have brown hair..

My ancestors would be proud.

By: Mike

Mike — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:30:48 +0000

Doc- the Nords went berzerk because they didn’t have Twinkies and Doritos.

By: Rex Havok

Rex Havok — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 21:11:41 +0000

Been there, done that.

By: Doc

Doc — Mon, 03 Sep 2007 13:30:02 +0000

Yeah, yeah, blame it on drugs. Like “assasins” is a bastardized version of “hashish”.

Dunno about you, but when I used to smoke hash and eat mushrooms, all I wanted was a box of Twinkies and some Doritos. Wasn’t prepared to paint myself blue and kill somebody for them, tho….