When the Wolf Comes RPG

Kasta þú tveggja tigu teningi! Roll20 news
about 2 years ago – Thu, Jul 28, 2022 at 03:10:34 AM

Hello!

Some exciting news today. We've just agreed with Roll20 to bring When the Wolf Comes to their Virtual Tabletop as a stretch goal. I am a big fan of online play, ever since the pandemic forced us to gather round a screen rather than a table and have been organizing this in the background for a few weeks.

Because it is a stretch goal, it might be me biting off more than I can chew. That said, this is a game featuring Fenrir on the cover. He consumed the world so swiftly that even the sun was dragged from its zenith and into his stomach.  My thinking is to provide a complete Vikingverse package in one fell swoop, rather than keep returning to crowdfunding. It's an investment in a game we hope will run and run. Fortune favours the bold! (Ei komask sóttdauðir til Valhallar!)

So, what does this mean for backers? 

The new Stretch Goal will go towards supporting the conversion costs versus paying for unlocking that content for "free" - but Roll20 are looking at ways to help support us in making that an incentive worth going after. We're hoping for discounted digital keys and discussions are underway to see if we can make them completely free for specific pledges. Watch this space!

What about other VTTs like Foundry?

Well, Odin didn't fashion Midgard from Ymir's flesh in a day.  If this approach proves a hit, we'll certainly consider it (other VTTs that is, not the wholesale slaughter of progenitor beings).

How can I, [INSERT HEROIC NAME HERE], help?

Feel free to sail to England and extort Danegeld (technically called gafol at the time). Maybe sell a thrall or two. Seriously, I know full well that it isRagnarök out there. There is rampant inflation and a cost-of-living crisis.  Eldjötnar keep burning down forests.

Nevertheless, I've been truly humbled by the support from the community, and all I can ask is you keep sounding theGjallarhorn. A lot can be done in two weeks. 

In the meantime...

I've made a few tweaks and updates to the Kickstarter page. Go back and have a look, and remember, feedback is a gift.

Have fun storming the castle!
Haf þú skemmtan nokkra af atlǫgunni vit kastalann!

Best,

ISS

Origins (Part One)
about 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 27, 2022 at 12:40:04 AM

Hello!

Today, I wanted to spend a little time exploring Origins.  In Shadow, they are called Ancestries (in D&D, Races) but I wanted to be clear that in When the Wolf Comes, they are more of a starting point.

If you have read any interviews about the Vikingverse, or listened to today's RPG Academy podcast (well worth it, if I do say so myself) you'll know that I am trying to forge something both ancient and modern, drawing heavily on myth to fashion an authentic vision of a pagan present.

So, without further ado*, here are the first five in teaser form!

• The Dvergar are sentient machines, raised from the bones of worlds and forged into crafty and cunning thralls. The dvergar are programmable, but they are not simple automatons, as many a controller has found to his cost. Their earthy nature and short lifespans make them volatile and unpredictable.
• Mannfólk are masters of all they survey. The storied heroes of mannkind once took to the seas in clinker-built vessels of oak and pine, shattering kingdoms and claiming soil with blood. When there were no more lands to conquer, they sought out the cosmos, in living, breathing ships, grown from the same stock as Yggdrasil.
• The Jöfurr are a breed apart, an emergent race of super-rich tycoons and jet-set jarls who style themselves “the New Gods”. Most jöfurr are wildly rich and totally conceited, referring  disparagingly to mortals who can’t afford rejuvenation as “Dayflies”.
• The Sons (and daughters!) of Ivaldi are a close-knit family of corporate apparatchiks, who eagerly pursue immortality. Eschewing the eternal youth granted by Iðunn’s Apples, they instead upload their consciousness to custom built bodies. Their "swarm intelligence" amplifies each individual’s brainpower - large groups can aggregate data and predict an event outcome with far more accuracy than any given individual.
• Wanes are an archaic offshoot of mannkind, also known as the “tree-touched” or álf-kin. Possessed of a deep and timeless connection to Yggdrasil, they wandered the Níu Heimar long before the Time of Travels, only to forfeit their unique culture with the arrival of Imperial settlers. Wanes can draw on ancestral memories, using the resonance to quickly adapt to situations. 

* a phrase of Old Norse origin,  which used at with the infinitive + do.  Vikings get everywhere.

San Diego Fire!
about 2 years ago – Sat, Jul 23, 2022 at 09:33:50 PM

Hello!

I am sure everyone saw all the trailers and news coming out of San Diego Comic Con over the past few days. What a glorious time to be alive! 

We've also hit 250 backers and the third stretch goal, which is truly stupendous. Thanks once again for taking your spot in the shield wall.

Now, as you may know, one of the aims of the Vikingverse is to "reverse engineer" fantasy tropes - to explore their DNA so to speak. With all the Rings of Power buzz this week, I wanted to provide an example of what I mean.

• "Balrogs" arguably existed long before Tolkien ; in Norse myth: an epithet of Odin was Báleygr, "fire-eyed".
• Tolkien wrote that Grendel, the beast of Beowulf, was "physical enough in form and power, but vaguely felt as belonging to a different order of being, one allied to the malevolent 'ghosts' of the dead". 
• Compare this with Aragorn's description of the Balrog as "both a shadow and a flame, strong and terrible".
• It is notable that fire jötunn Surtr carries both a sword and a sviga laevi, etymologically something akin to the Balrog's flaming whip. 

So, what does all that mean for When the Wolf Comes?

To me, the most revealing phrase (from a man who was a professional philologist) is "a different order of being, one allied to the malevolent 'ghosts' of the dead". Think about that for a second. This isn't purely a creature of health and hit points, this is something that exists outside the world we know - but one that the Norse took for granted.

Accordingly, ancestors, spirits and the multi-part soul are a critical component of the game, both in the Bestiary and Player Character origins. I'll be providing some detail on those Origins next week. Stay tuned!

San Diego Comic Con rather devoured all the news cycles this week, but there is a short interview on EN World that is worthy of a tweet or share. I am happy to dialogue over on our Discord server.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim.
Má ek hafa mig á brott. Mér esnauðsyn á at leggja Jǫtunheim í eyði.

Best,

ISS

Spirits and Spellcraft
about 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 08:30:49 PM

Hello!

Today, as promised, I am going to provide an update on spellcraft in the Vikingverse.  Here are the various crafts (aka traditions) available to the Wise (and not-so-wise) in When the Wolf Comes: 

• Lyf sciences have a long and distinguished history. Wise-women and conjurers still recite incantations against the spirits of disease, but since the Verðandi cracked the genetic code, their crystals and stones have largely been replaced by surgical instruments. Modern field medicine is built on a solid foundation of dvergtækni and powerful drugs designed to keep soldiers on their feet.
• Galdar is the mastery of spell-song. Like psalms, these incantations range from the high-pitched to the rhythmic, but they are all pleasing to the ear. Spell-songs act as both codes and keys, first attracting the spirits of the land, then involving them in the harmony of the song, before binding them to the will of the sorcerer. In this way, spell-songs are able to harness the land, terrify foes, or inspire friends.
• Gand is an understanding of the primal forces from which the worlds were formed. Practitioners are able to control the elements, manipulating root-particles and sister-particles to hurl projectiles or seize the wind.  The craft was once the preserve of Finnar sorcerers in their mountain retreats – gandrekr who shot spell-arrows and curses over vast distances – but is increasingly dominated by purpose-built machines who are able to handle its intricacy and complexity.
• Rúnar - runes are not just letters, but secrets. Each sign is capable of creation, each individual phoneme packed with inherent meaning. Runecraft is not only a means of communication; it is a means to change reality itself – from the double-helix of DNA to the quantum realm. With the dissemination of Grikk mathematics and Hebrew mysticism, the number of glyphs, staves and symbols has proliferated beyond measure, each one a key to unlocking the physical world. Modern rune masters bind these codes to create advanced composites and artificial life.
• Seiðr is the art of manipulating thought and memory. Its practitioners are well versed in the use of pharmacology and pheromones to change the consciousness of their quarry, freezing the will and clouding judgement. Seiðr is said to be originate as a Vanic craft, fertility rituals which Freyja brought among the Æsir. The modern craft has evolved over time, but still involves unbridled sexuality and the heavy use of stimulants. It also involves a mastery of contortion: a typical spell might require seiðrmenn to bend over and look through their legs, grasping their earlobes.
• Spácraft is the skill of seeing that which is unseen to others and speaking of what will come to pass. Across the ages, seers have prophesied the örlögs of men - the “law of what will be”. Practitioners were afforded the highest honours as they sat in the very seat of sorcery – the chair of the nornir. Nowadays, the gift of foresight affords both dread and deference, mainly because raw intuition is augmented by the sheer power of information.

For people who want to dive a little deeper, there is a blog post that provides more insight over at Spells & Spaceships. 

At time of writing, we are 200% funded (it fluctuates a bit as new backers emerge, or people change (or cancel!) their pledge. All that remains to say is thanks for making the magic happen! 

What we do in life, echoes in eternity.
Þat, es vér gørum í lifanda lífi, fáum vér goldit í Valhǫllu.

Best,

ISS

Catalogue of Creatures
about 2 years ago – Wed, Jul 20, 2022 at 08:41:01 AM

Hello!

Having recently returned to the land of the living, I thought I'd share a little about the games Náttúrabók, or Catalogue of Creatures.

Life abounds across the Níu Heimar. From the moment Karl Lind slipped across the Greenways, a new chapter in evolutionary history began. His Verðandi initially sought to reinforce mann’s dominion over the three kingdoms of nature, but they soon found evidence of life beyond the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral. They collected specimens and trophies from all manner of creatures, both familiar and strange, from the tiniest bug to enormous whales - all of which had taken their own path of natural selection. When the Wolf Comes features about 100 of these natural and not-so-natural beasts, but we've just detailed a stretch goal to add yet more from the pages of mythology! 

Make sure to check back to the Kickstarter page have a look at the updated stretch goals list. I'll provide a little bit more detail on the others tomorrow.

In the meantime, do keep spreading the word! Or as they say in Old Norse, "If you like this book, tell your friends. If you don’t, tell your enemies".  Ef líkar þér bók þessi, seg þú vinom þínom. Ef þér mislíkar, seg þú þínom óvinom.

Best,

ISS