KickStarter Trudvang Chronicles

[nikolokolus]

I'm a sucker for BRP style games (RuneQuest, Stormbringer, Delta Green, Call of Cthulhu, etc.) and this Kickstarter caught my eye: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1256540796/trudvang-chronicles?ref=activity

Based loosely on Celtic, Scandinavian and Finnish myths, it's a d20 roll-under system instead of d100 (kind of like Pendragon) but the principles are the same -- skill-based vs. class based.

What really caught my eye was the production values and the artwork. The Paul Bonner stuff looks amazing and might be worth the price of admission alone (reminiscent of John Bauer's art).

Does anybody have any experience with RiotMinds' other stuff, like Drachar och Demoner, et al?

 

[Neanderthal]

Looks interesting, nice to see they've got bare chested birds an bloke like in old days o Boris, just a bit tired o mixing Norse an Celtic stuff same as every other game does. Explore one or other in detail like Expeditions is doing I say. Nice to see Kalavela brought up though, always thought Kullervo served as inspiration for Elric, evil sword, stupid an self harming actions etc.

 

[nikolokolus]

As an aside: I wish I could remember where I read about it, but there is some speculation that there was a certain amount of syncretism between Celtic and Norse mythos (similar Tree of Life myths, Loki might actually be Lugh Lahmfada borrowed from Halstatt and La Tene Celts, etc.) In any case it sounds like the game has three distinct cultures with their own religions, customs, etc. Instead of it just being god-soup.

 

[Neanderthal]

Old theory that I hold might be true is that Norse were invaders that indigenous Britons named the Fomorians, led by their famous Chieftain Balor of the One Eye, the Fomorian sea demons could be early invasions of Britain by Norse an Germanic folk. Balor an Odin obviously share a lot o similarities wi one eye an ruthlessness, plus one of Odins hundred names is Baleyg or Evil Eye. Way that Norse seemed to have settled on northern isles o Scotland suggests that maybe they were there long before English came over to take most o mainland Britain.

Might be that Britons were Vanir to Norse Aesir, but most hold that were some kind of interbreeding/cultural melding in Scandinavia. Probably true, might be where Rigsthula an description o classes of Norse society come from, Thralls seem like a totally different race when described in that poem, which might be a displaced slave people retreating before Germanic invasion. Interestingly enough Thor seems to be their god an most like them.

There were one book I read that theorised Thralls were Trolls.