Time to reload a save or some shit.
The Game: Runecairn: Wardensaga
The Publisher: By Odin's Beard
Degree of Familiarity: None
Books Required: Just the one
Every so often I run into a game or a type of game that proves just how big this hobby is. I mean, I consider myself pretty goddamn well-versed in RPGs and the variety that's out there. I own literally thousands of games, but then I hit stuff like Mothership and Into the Odd and Cairn (not this one, this one) and basically the whole OSR paradigm and I'm just reminded that there's a lot of shit that's not remotely on my radar. That isn't to say it's bad or I don't/wouldn't like it, it's just that I'm kinda out of the loop of what's hip in game design because I'm not in it anymore.
Well, anyway, Runecairn:Wardensaga is basically Dark Souls but an RPG. I don't know about the aesthetic (I haven't played Dark Souls and the closest I've gotten is watching Michelle play Bloodborne), but in this game you can die a number of times equal to your Vigor, you respawn at bonfires when you do die, and you collect souls in order to make yourself stronger. In-setting, Ragnorak has happened and the world is borked (which, since I've been played through God of War: Ragnorak lately, is what spurred me to read this game), but I dunno, the game just feels thin. There's some cool stuff in here, but it's meant for a single player and a GM (though you can play it with more players and I don't see anything that would break if you did).
SO ANYWAY chargen is mostly random, so it's not gonna take long to whip up a doomed adventurer. I think I need to make a character for something a bit more trad next. Maybe I'll check out Infected.
OK, first thing we do is choose or roll for a name. I'ma gonna roll. Guðmundr. Sounds great. Roll for more traits. Physique: Short. Skin: Mottled. Hair: Luxurious (obviously. duh.). Face: Sunken. Speech: Cryptic (ooooh, spooky). Gregarious, but vengeful. So far, so good!
Next we roll 3d6 for each Ability, and then swap any two if we want. Strength 8, Dexterity 7, Wits 6 (wtf), Spirit 9. That sucks. Guðmundr ain't gonna last very long.
Roll 1d6 for Vigor...3. I have 3 deaths before I become a shade. 1d6 for Vitality gives me 4. Resilience is the sum of those two, so 7.
And now I pick a class, with the understanding that it only defines what I was, not what I will become (what I will become is likely "dead"). I think I'll just throw myself into it and be a Warrior.
Otherwise, there are a bunch of symbols on the sheet that I don't understand, a box for "Speed" but that trait is never explained, so I think I'm done!
Guðmundr was a warrior who managed to stay alive, though probably not distinguished. Pays more attention to grooming his hair than trying to kill monsters, which is probably going to get him killed. Also he talks too much.
