Thor literally doesn’t want to dress as a woman in this story EXPRESSLY because he fears being labeled ergi. He says this explicitly.

This is story is a comedy, and this portion of it is told as a joke at Thor’s expense, where Loki and Freya tease him about it.

Please don’t accuse me of making claims I did not. I gave one example of Viking homophobia. It’s also a big example, as “not appearing as an ergi” is pretty much the driving motivation for many of the gods in the tales we have. This means being manly in general, and being penetrated by another is just one thing that immediately labels you as ergi.

Neil Price did not make his claim that Vikings were severely homophobic from a single word either (no idea where you got this). You are free to read his work yourself for more information.

Please don’t accuse me of making claims I did not. I gave one example of homophobia and the opinion of a respected historian. Not every insult was taken as seriously as ergi. Very few insults were as dire. This is ONE example of Viking homophobia. I don’t give a shit if they were homophobic or not, they’re dead.

Accusing a man of being “ergi,” which is basically unmanly, was enough of an insult to be answered with blood. A specific instance of something that qualifies a man of being ergi is taking the passive role (bottom) in homosexual intercourse.

Author and Norse historian Neil Price describes “Viking” culture as being one of the most homophobic in history.

No worries, happy to help. Yeah strength is totally viable. Just be aware that in LoP, parrying is just blocking. When you block, you take less damage and you get “rally” like in BB and get that HP back by hitting things. You can do a “perfect block” with good timing and take no damage. There is no Dark Souls or Sekiro-style parry mechanic.

If BB had too many RPG elements for you then you might want to skip LoP. To answer your question though, just pick Bastard at the beginning and never look at another weapon other than the rapier you start with. Don’t change your Legion Arm, just use the starter one for damage and poise breaking. Only put levels into Vigor, Vitality, and Technique when leveling for stamina, HP, and damage respectively. Eventually you will be able to buy an item called a “Technique Crank” from a guy whose name rhymes with panini. Put that on your rapier when you get it. That’s it.

Parrying is geared towards Strength builds (Strength is called Motivity in LoP). If you want to do strength pick Sweeper instead of Bastard and level Motivity instead of Technique. Put a Motivity Crank on your weapon instead of Technique.