When I stumbled on the Trudvang Chronicles on Kickstarter, there may have been a squee loud enough for the neighbors to hear.
Drawing from Norse and Celtic mythos to build a interesting and rich roleplaying world, as described by publisher Riot Minds, “Beowulf, the epic poetry Kalevala and the fantastic art of the Scandinavian artist John Bauer are our inspirations for building this game.” The game was previously unavailable in English, but with this Kickstarter hardback English rules are now available, making it accessible to roleplayers outside of Sweden to explore the world. Beyond getting a tried and tested game (which had a revision as recently as 2014 in its native Swedish), you’ll also have the help of the magnificent art is done by Paul Bonner to help you build the world in your imagination.
It’s clear the game designers aren’t simply making a hack-and-slash Tolkein-inspired fantasy world where players simply crawl dungeons and kill things. As they describe the game:
“Apart from the world and it’s design, one of the most unique features of the Trudvang setting is magic and religion, whereas magic is more shaman-like and down-to-earth, and each race, and even region, has it’s own religion and faith. Creation of men, elves dwarves and their myths, gods and beasts play an important layer to the play.”
Kickstarter backers can get PDFs of the game translated in English for the insanely low price of $12, which is cheaper than a movie and popcorn on a Tuesday. Backers who want printed copies of the rules can back for $70 bucks and get the the GM’s guide, The Players Guide, the Bestiary and Wildheart, an adventure within the world of Trudvang as well as a couple additional hardbacks, pdfs and more as stretch goals unlock. Backers can also pick up additional supplements for $14 each, so players can work out of their own copies.
It’s a perfect reason to pull out those Blood Rage miniatures and make them multi-purpose (and maybe throw some paint on them while you’re at it.) I know I’m quite excited to explore a realm full of shapeshifters, dimwalkers and blótkings and taken in the richness of Norse and Celtic mythology.
Let us know in the comments what RPG universe is your favourite, or which one you’d like to see a game set in!
Photo Credits: Riot Mind
Teri Litorco is a tiny woman who has a thing for playing a particular type of RPG character: those that are large, brutish, and smash-inclined (like the Hulk). Somewhat ironically, she also is the author of The Civilized Guide To Tabletop Gaming. Follow her on social media and tell her your favourite dump stat: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.