End of the Northerners - Dungeon World (Inactive)

Game Master kdtompos

"Ragnarök is the doom of the gods, and the end of the world.
It begins with three winters of wars in Miðgarð. Then Fimbulvetr follows, the winter of winters, with bitter frosts and biting winds. Three such winters will follow with no summer between them.
Then the end will begin...."

Basic Moves


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This campaign will use the Dungeon World System.
The full text is contained for free online as well. And I am always happy to help introduce people to the system. It's simple.

Dungeon World?:
Dungeon World is probably the most dynamic and natural feeling setting for an RPG that I’ve ever come across. It’s simple, it’s creative, and it’s explosive.

The entire focus of this setting is the fiction (the story) and the fantastic characters that make that story happen. The mechanics are intended to rise out of the fiction and spur you on into further adventure by introducing complications, rather than determine if you can do what you desire. In fact, as a GM I don’t even roll any dice – instead I prompt you, the players, to roll when failure might present interesting options and build the story according to those successes and quirks.

Don’t worry, it’s not completely free form. As a GM I do everything that would typically be expected of one wearing that cap: setting the scene and mood, providing interesting hooks and dilemmas, roleplaying NPCs and dangerous creatures, and describing the events as they unfold around you. What makes this different is that these things explode out of what you, the adventurers do. It’s got that vintage, old-school aroma.

This is what I mean. Everything that needs to be resolved is performed by rolling 2d6 (with a minor modifier for stats).

Quote:
A result of 10+ is a complete success, a result of 7-9 means you succeed but there’s a complication, and a result of 6 or less means that you jot down a point of experience and things get nastier rather than better.

Notice that even the lowest roll may not mean you fail at the action, it just means that things are going to heat up even more. Your actions aren’t defined by the mechanics and the roles, those dice rolls instead rise out of the fictional actions to build a dynamic and fantastic encounter.

Example? Certainly!
You: "I'll charge at the shaman's massive cauldron, trying to topple it and send the horrendous concoction within washing over the gibbering greenskins trying to rush up the hill."
GM: "That things really hot! Let's do it, but you'll likely take some damage and... wait, you're a dwarf! Dwarves are like, crazy hardy right? Tell me what that means." This is where you get to define some of the world too. You're a dwarf, after all, so you should know them best right?
You: [you talk about how dwarven matrons are all blacksmiths as well, so every dwarven child spends its first year wrapped in its mother's arms at a scalding forge. So minor burns really are nothing at all... You're making up stuff off the top of your head, but it's becoming canon for our world! I love this!]
GM: "Awesome. So you're still Defying Danger, but not against the burns. The danger is toppling the cauldron before the goblins reach you, so roll 2d6+Str modifier."
So you roll and the results are in one of those 3 categories above of Success, Success w/ Complications, or Trouble. Here's what could happen as a result:

  • 10+: Awesome. I'll describe how it worked out fantastically! Maybe the mixture washes over the front line of goblins--burning away flesh, blinding eyes, leaving a stench that makes you want to hurl, etc. Maybe one or two even get bowled over by the rolling cauldron.
  • 7-9: You still pulled it off. But it's complicated. Maybe some of the goblins get up there and out of the way first, and now they're leaping at you with their spears. Or maybe in your haste you overcommitted and now find yourself tumbling down behind it, needing to think fast before you find yourself in the same bath, etc.
  • 6-: Oops. Maybe the goblins got to you before you could topple it--dragging you to the ground and now are swarming all over you like hornets. Or hell, maybe you succeeded in doing what you wanted, but instead of burning off the front line it seems to be strengthening them! They're growing larger as muscles expand beneath their sinewy flesh and spikes erupt from their backs.

The point of this system is to let the players really act through their characters and go crazy. You don't make the above decision because you have a "Bowling with Cauldrons" feat. You also aren't dissuaded from pursuing an unorthodox action by the intimidating prospect of multiple rolls to determine aim, fortitude, saves vs. fire, and ability with an improvised weapon. You do it because it's what your character would do, and it sounds awesome. And we resolve it with a single roll. You also rest assured that whether it works the way you planned it or not, it's gonna make on e hell of a story should you survive to tell it.

Beyond all the basic options, you will also get to pick a Class. This is all about the fiction, so a class will simply open up new fun areas to consider beyond what an average person could perform: like casting spells, calling on divine favors, picking pockets, changing forms, etc.

The system is also intended to give you authorship of the world and adventures. As illustrated above, even as I shift and control the world around you I will be asking a ton of questions about things your character would know. These become opportunities for you to join me in creating the world. Go as big as you want and I'll likely add to what you introduce as well.

So the game grows to be about more than just following your characters, but also about creating and discovering the world in which they exist. It's wonderful.

Even if you are familiar with Dungeon World, check out this guide. It will really help you understand some of the hurdles that gamers usually get stuck on.

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And the pitch... There's TWO options, but I'm only going to move forward with ONE.

  • End of the Northlanders-- You are all survivors in the frozen north; an unforgiving land that walks a strange line between honor and savagery. Furthermore, it's falling apart. Before we even begin I will ask you questions about how you know that the world is ending, where the gods seem to be, and what that has done to this already brutal landscape and culture. Picture gargantuan trolls, gods in disguise, ravaging tribes, and eternal snow.
    Norse flavor with emphasis on survival, brutality, and glory in a world falling apart. I will likely introduce new moves to deal with omens or oaths, and we can flavor classes in ways to make them more befitting of Scandinavian Sword and Sorcery.

  • WHAAAGGHHH! Goblins!-- You are all goblins. Which sucks because goblins die in horribly painful ways! But you refuse to go down that way, you're going to rise above and set the world on fire doing so. This campaign would be ridiculous from the onset and the dangers would be adjusted to fit that. Everything will be exaggerated so that backfiring spells and poor swings have gigantic repercussions. Likewise, gritty realism will be conveniently ignored most of the time so that lighting yourself on fire before rushing into a crowd of priests becomes a worthwhile trade rather than a death sentence. Before we begin I will be asking you tons of questions about how you will define goblins as well as their place in this world. Picture absurdity with the illusion of control and constant danger from yourselves as much as the colorful world around you. I'm thinking more along the lines of bizarre goblins than genocidal maniac goblins. Though I'm sure there's a middle ground.
    Fantasy of the brightest colors and an ever-present reality as defined by wizards and whimsical gods. Not to be taken seriously, though death is still a possibility (albeit a humorous one). Any class will be flavored heavily toward the ridiculous--like fighters with a stuffed marlin as a signature weapon, clerics that serve the god of fashion, or druids that limit their form changing to mythical types of horses, etc.

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I know these boards don't usually have a lot of interest in other systems, but I've been able to run a few DW games here previously with fantastic participation. I know there are also 3 other games currently still running!

So if these pique your interest, say so and cast a vote for a preference! Again, I'll only follow through on ONE as I'm learning my own limitations. But if your preference isn't voted to the top, you're still welcome to be a part of the one that does.

Once we pick a path, then we can work more on building characters.


Info about myself:

I've run 3 different Dungeon World games here on these boards, and play currently in a couple Pathfinders games. This game would be the only one I will be running myself.

I can post quite a bit through the day, M-F, but not on weekends. I also currently live in the Pacific time zone (GMT - 8). Expectations for posting would be at least one post per day through the week. And because this system involves a lot of question/answer type stuff I realize that it may move slowly at times. But I will be intentional in providing constant action.

We can obviously establish/modify expectations as a group as well.

Please ask any questions you may have!


Sounds promising. =^^=


I would love another DW game! Your link is not working for me. Also, it is kind of early, but are there going to be any restrictions on available playbooks, or does it depend on which path. The goblins seems amusing, but I really like the Norse option, so I am voting for that.


Nohwear: which link isn't working? I'll try to remedy it. There should be three (in order)-- link to where you can purchase the pdf in interested, link to the online SRD, and a link to the Dungeon World Guide (I'm assuming probably this last one, since I can't reach it from this source either but can check it again from a better computer...)

And I'm pretty flexible on playbooks if you like some outside the basics. Whatever you want, we'll work on it and likely should be able to do so as min/maxing really doesn't affect much here.


Correct, it is the last one that is not working. Although in all fairness, I have yet to try the other two.

Also, here is bundle of holding for DW. I think it ends on Dec, 19.


Alright, let's see if that fixed it ;)

And yeah, that's a fantastic bundle for anyone looking to check this system out. I would highly recommend the purchase as even if you never end up really playing this system much (but why wouldn't you?) it has wonderful stuff in it that should bleed into any game you run/play.


I'm a huge, huge fan of goblins, but I've gotta go with the End of the Northlanders. Especially being that I'm from Minnesota and the world is gray and cold outside right now, I feel like I could really sink my teeth into that kind of roleplay. I think I'd probably roll up a Skald, a war-singer bard. I loved the f!*$ out of Skyrim so I'd be borrowing heavily from that kind of imagery most likely.


Frogfoot!

Mogthrasir, if we do not go the goblin route, could you please send me the adaptation rules you intended to use. I might have to yoink it.


I'm a firm believer that concepts created collectively are far more inspiring than ones from isolation... which is a fancy way of saying that I don't have any adaptation rules yet other than some sketchy ideas jotted down in a notebook. The intention here is that if we go that route, then you also take some responsibility in helping me come up with them.

I'm more than happy to share the ideas I have though, and would welcome any feedback or thoughts you have. So regardless of what direction we go, I can write those down and share them. I've also got some notes on how that concept could be hacked into Apocalypse World. Doing so would make it much more of a story game than an adventure game, but the chaos of life as a goblin in a wildly fantastic world fits perfectly into the premises of Apocalypse World.

Frogfoot: feel free to pilfer/borrow from Skyrim liberally!


I've played AW but not DW, color me very, very intrigued.

Hmmmmmm. Norse and Goblins both sound interesting. I admit that the goblin comedy exerts a strong pull, but I don't have a character in mind...

On the other hand, if we go Norse, I could definitely see a shieldmaiden-type who'd stepped into a man's role when the man in question went down, and is now discovering and having to deal with all of the social side-effects of that. Maybe eventually becoming a bear-sark or (in DW terms) a skinwalker.

If that's too heavy for people, I understand, but I have a real fondness for exploring characters who are stuck in the wrong societal niche.


So, it seems likely that we are going Norse. For those with ideas, how many would work with being on a boat? If I were to take Captain from Inverse World, then we would have a base of operations and an easy tie.


Another Nordic idea is to use Class Warfare to build a bear sarker. That would be someone who rages while either turning into a bear or gaining certain properties of one.


Yeah, the Skinwalker is a...Uh. Something class. Meaning, you don't start that way, you have to achieve it, and it can shapeshift or (if I remember right) do extra damage. So something for the character to move towards.

I may be misremembering. I've read DW perhaps 3 times in two years and that linked "how to" exactly one time, which mentions it.

Ships were wealth and power, and the sea was life. One of my first thoughts for 'Norse end times' last night was a scrap of some old S&S talking about Ragnarok as a final winter, some little hoary phrasing about "a wolf winter, a black winter" so I was actually going to propose that the seas were frozen farther than a man could walk from the shore...

I'm not wedded to that, but I do like the idea of a descending darkness, where the sun rises less and less, until the closest there is to "day" is the faintest lightening of the eastern skies...Clouds cover the sky, and those who count time by the stars wander around as if lost, for even a clear enough gap in the clouds to see starlight is a precious event. No crops last year, this year most men ate their crop-seed, and already those with less honor and strength eat other men. There've been children born who are a year and more old who have never seen spring's thaw...

I may be letting a bit much apocalypse from my AW experience intrude. ;) How gritty and dark are people thinking?


I am not sure how dark, but I would prefer more bloody then gritty. A dark blood pulp could be interesting.


Awesome. It looks like "End of the Northlanders" is taking a pretty commanding lead. So for the moment I'll lean more in that direction and maybe start fleshing some stuff out.

I also intend to leave this up for a bit, as I won't likely be able to lean fully into this until the next year (a couple weeks from now... but that sounds longer, right?). So new people will have a good chance to express interest and we can take our time in building up something with some meaty hooks.

Tisiphone Cyrin: If you've played AW, you've got a good grasp. AW is much more story oriented, so you won't be breaking mental barriers to get the "rooted-in-fiction" concepts. As for character concept, the shield-maiden sounds cool. I honestly think that with the resources that are out there (Nohwear mentioned class warfare) we can bring just about any concept into a workable playbook.

That being said, there's already a Berserker playbook out there by Peter Johansen that's pretty cool. He even made a version of it for Class Warfare that lets you take its core and build it into something larger. There's also a specialty Tim Franzke made for Class Warfare that hits the Druid note of changing into an animal form that could be utilized. So, yeah... options.

Honestly, I'd say the best route is get a concept in your head that makes your blood churn in a good way, and we'll find something close and tweak it or build it up. And I think the term you're looking for with the Skinwalker is "Compendium Class". It's like extra class options you can choose at leveling up, assuming you've fulfilled the requisite criteria.

Nohwear: Cool ideas. If you guys are digging the boat concept, that totally has some Viking flair. We can make it the heart or work it in on more peripheral.

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Setting Questions/Thoughts: Later today I'll start tossing out some of the structure I'm thinking, which is intentionally extremely loose so that you guys have a wide world to define. I'm eating up the ideas you guys are throwing out so far, especially the stuff not fully defined like "a wolf winter, a black winter," etc. Keep chatting it up and we'll see what rises out of it.

Pulpy vs. Gritty? Likely a balance as I can't imagine foregoing either, but I could favor either way.


I just recently got into DW (Playing in DM Frogfoot's game) and I'm digging the system.

Ideas for either campaign would be easy, though my preference would be the End of the Northlanders. I played a human dragonslayer way back in Council of Wyrms that I'd like to reenvision.

Let me dig into the classes a bit and see if I can't come up with something that fits. Sounds like we might be fairly warrior heavy at the moment...will that be an issue? Cuz if so I don't mind at all playing something else. I'm very curious how spellcasters work in DW.


One idea that comes mind, what if something is causing the the wilderness to become more and more dangerous. The nature of my ship is something designed to make the travels safe, or at least sane. Thus part of our adventures could simply be acting as one of the few things keeping civilization together.


I looked at a few things... I like the idea of a wraithlander


Fraust: Cool. Let me know what you find! And if we end up heavy on straight melee, then that's how I build the campaign, so balancing the party in regards to traditional roles (tanks, support, face, etc.) isn't AS necessary. I'll give you lots of stuff to beat yourselves against, though it just leaves wider gaps for me to "show the downside of a class".

But one of the wonderful things about this system is that the GM isn't out to beat you, I'm your second biggest fan.

Nohwear: That could be pretty cool too. So you're aware, I'm fine incorporating stuff like that in even if someone doesn't have a class that directly makes it so. (If you guys want a large ship, and that's part of your adventuring hook, then cool we'll make it happen. A class tied into it just makes your role there more consistent.)

Seth86: Great. Keep fleshing out what that looks like, since the Wraithlander is a Compendium Class (CC) like the Skinwalker concept. So what's that look like? What would it play like? What grabs ya?


● ● Setting ● ●

Primer: While this game should have HEAVY Scandinavian/Norse/Viking tones, I have no intention of assuming any of the baggage that comes with that. I'm decently well versed in norse mythology and history. I love it in fact, and will make use of that, but I neither hold myself nor you to maintaining it. What we create becomes the canon for this world, not stringent accuracy according to an historic mythos. So you can pull ideas from the myth of Ragnarok for instance if you want, but this will very likely look different. Make up what interests or fascinates you.

Likewise, I'm not assuming anything that we don't outline, regardless of how 'established' that may be in traditional fantasies. Remember this when you assume that fire/acid is the key to taking down a troll... if it hasn't been established you're gambling, so you may want to Spout Lore first. In short, it's likely that most setting questions you ask will be turned back to you. "Good question. How have you found that to work?"

Here is a loose skeleton, however, of 6 truths. Use these to hang your ideas on:

  • Welcome to the End -- The world of this age is ending. That doesn't mean that everything will necessarily collapse into nothing, but it's changing dramatically and for the worst. You'll get to define what that looks like...
  • Mostly Silent Gods -- They're not dead, but they don't seem to be helping. Or if they are it's cryptic and aloof. Have they turned on you? Are they reeling with fighting the end as well? Because of their absence, Diving Classes (Cleric, Paladin, Priest, etc.) should reflect that, either with a dramatic change in core mechanics or absent.
  • Savage and Cold -- Like I said from the start, lots of snow. This may not be a white out all the time, but "the end" entails winter and lots of it. Luckily, you anticipate that, right?
  • Absence of Community -- This is BIG, and intentionally ironic. One of the hallmarks of Scandinavian culture is the emphasis on community because life was so harsh. But when the end is right around the corner, community dissolves. I LOVE this conflict, where people are forced to rely on each other, but true community is all but extinct. Everyone is a survivalist now, and community is a myth of the old ways.
  • Supernatural -- This is fantasy, in case you forget. So we shouldn't shoot for historical resemblance. There are supernatural forces all over, superstitions that come with them, and a world of competing forces that you don't rule over.
  • Human Core -- This may ruffle some feathers, which is why I want to be upfront with it. Every character should be human, mostly. I emphasize this because of the previous point (Supernatural). I envision a world similar to Norse myth where Trolls, Dvuergar, Aelfar, Dragons, etc. (should they exist) are far beyond humanity. But with that said, since you are all heroes, it would be no stretch to possess some of their bloodline in your own.
    So when we get to mechanics a bit down the road, any bloodline you possess will take the spot of "race". But as you help me build this world, the core race from your perspective is humanity.


I ask the group, how important do you want to make the ship? Is it a location where a lot of action takes place, or is it more of a way of going from point a to point b?


Mogthrasir knows very well that I'm totally fine with basing much of the action of the campaign around a ship. Shall we name her...the Eye of the Storm?


Ha! That's a good example though. In our Pirate themed DW game, we had a character who was a Captain but played a different class. The Captain title played heavily into the fiction, including a crew and ship, etc. But there were no mechanics that made him "captain-y" beyond the class (Battlemaster, which fit quite well).

So the bigger question is how central you want to make it to who you are?


I like the idea from Chronicles of Riddick. Underverse. He went there through a spirit walk or something. Like a shaman or a druid. And he returned to his tribe as something new. Something different.


Seth86: Awesome. We've got a while, so in the mean time I'll start patching some stuff up from Class Warfare and run it by you to see what you think. As you think of more, let me know.


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I'm not terribly familiar with DW, as said, so any advice on classes would be welcomed and I'll look up what's been given so far.

I also haven't played Skyrim, but I've got a bunch of the old, oldschool S&S writers in my formative years...And among them are Anderson's take on Hrolf Kraki, and "The Tale of Hauk."

Nohwear raised the idea of the ship as "we would have a base of operations and an easy tie."

I kicked back with the idea that "Ships were wealth and power, and the sea was life." and I wanted to see more of that being under threat, or all but devastated.

Nohwear replied with the idea of the ship as "something designed to make the travels safe, or at least sane." and added "Thus part of our adventures could simply be acting as one of the few things keeping civilization together."

And now we've got our setting bits, and one of those setting bits is the destruction of community. One of the reason ships were wealth and power is that it took a community to make a vessel large enough to trade or raid...And it took a community to maintain such a vessel...I assume you mean a ship and not a fishing boat. o let's see, hmmm. I'd like to toss a few ideas in about the ship and its relationship to "absence of community".

Tossing this in for discussion:

In its time the ship was the heart of a community, figuratively and literally. In its time, it was a dragon-ship, figuratively and literally. Now the dragon's spirit bound into the great, carven head at the prow speaks rarely, even when she is summoned to, and she has become lost more than once, too, whether it is the lack of stars to guide her or her own vision fading with age. She is old, and the ship is old, and where once she was the core of a community, now not all of those who sail in her are crew. She can break ice where the seas are frozen, and in this fell age that is sometimes one of the only ways to know when one has reached land...And there is a price to begin each new voyage, a price which steepens over time, but community makes all things easier, and dissent makes all things hard.

The Exchange

THIS. IS. MY. S&~!.
I have to go to bed right now, got work in six hours, but this sounds awesome. All of the 6 truths are prime. Love the vibes im getting from it. A myriad of ideas are bouncing around in meh mind, When i get home today, I will be on to bounce setting and character ideas with yal.

The Exchange

THIS. IS. MY. S+~#.
I have to go to bed right now, got work in six hours, but this sounds awesome. All of the 6 truths are prime. Love the vibes im getting from it. A myriad of ideas are bouncing around in meh mind, When i get home today, I will be on to bounce setting and character ideas with yal.


Question. Are those classes, like wraithlander, are they like templates or something? You pick a class and add it to your list? I will either go pure fighter or druid but add wraithlander. As mentioned. Idea is from CoR. =^^=


Alright, looks like we have maybe 6 people interested, which is great! And all for the End of the Northerners, so we've got a unanimous direction. Let's make it official eh? I'll get the rest of the campaign set up today so that we've got some other tabs and a place to collect what we put together.

RonetheSlayer: I'm glad you're feeling it. I look forward to any ideas you want to throw out there!

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Seth86: I've allowed the class thing to be far more complicated than it should be ;). I do that.

The 8 classes/playbooks on the SRD linked in the first post are the basic classes, and are fully contained. As an open source system, people have also created literally hundreds of other classes of varying balance/quality. I'm open to any of them, but will likely tweak things with you in the spirit of ensuring every character a niche' and a spectrum of possibilities (plus norse flavor of course).

Further Class Stuff For Seth86:
Wraithlander is a compendium class, which is like an achievement in game. If at some point you do "x", then at future level ups you may purchase moves from "x's list".
For instance: "Sweet, you just killed a Dragon! That's intense. You can consider yourself a Dragonslayer now, so any future level ups you can take a Dragonslayer move instead of one of your regular class moves if you want."

That means it's usually off limits for starting characters. BUT, Johnstone Metzger created an incredibly large book for DW called Class Warfare, which outlines ways to create your own class. It's a basic system that illustrates how Every full base class is essentially built from a combination of 3 niches, like compendium classes. It makes a simple process a bit more complicated, but it also means that you could have a character from the onset who is a Wraithlander, by also combining two more smaller niches into a cohesive package.

I've been toying around with that, and here's my thoughts:

  • Angel of Death: The Angel of Death was a venerated member of Scandinavian society, revered as one who was able to bridge the gap between life and death. She (historically a female I believe, but we can do whatever) was often responsible for overseeing burial rites and ceremonies. Spiritually, she communed with the Goddess Hel, and had a connection to the afterlife both revered and feared.
    Build: Wraithlander (Adds a touch of undeath to whatever the rest do, makes you kin with undead) + Venerator (Has an eye and mind for the spirits. Can see, speak with, draw spirits of an area to him... support type) + "Another"

    For the Third niche I've toyed with a type (Miracle Worker: Death) that gives you cleric type spells focused on death; or a type (Sacred Lamb) that heals others through your own sacrifice (and demands things of them as recompense, cool flavor); or a type (Shadowmancer) that travels through shadows and wields them like claws; or a type (Monstrous Heritage) that could allow himself to be possessed by spirits to wield some of their power; or finally a type (Champion of Law) that has supernatural authority, able to command even opponents and wield minor healing ability.

  • -Or- take an existing class like a Shaman, or whatever you wish, and remove one of its niches to implant the Wraithlander moves.

Any of that striking you?


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DM Frogfoot: I missed earlier that you were thinking something like a Skald, which sounds great. Mark Griffin posted a Skald on the Dungeon World Tavern that may be cool, I'll check it out. We could also simply tweak the standard bard or David Guyll and Mellissa Fisher's Bard.


Tisiphone Cyrin wrote:

Tossing this in for discussion:

In its time the ship was the heart of a community, figuratively and literally. In its time, it was a dragon-ship, figuratively and literally. Now the dragon's spirit bound into the great, carven head at the prow speaks rarely, even when she is summoned to, and she has become lost more than once, too, whether it is the lack of stars to guide her or her own vision fading with age. She is old, and the ship is old, and where once she was the core of a community, now not all of those who sail in her are crew. She can break ice where the seas are frozen, and in this fell age that is sometimes one of the only ways to know when one has reached land...And there is a price to begin each new voyage, a price which steepens over time, but community makes all things easier, and dissent makes all things hard.

Man, this really gets me thinking. I love that. Let me throw some stuff on there as well. And again, none of this has to be true yet. I'm just throwing in some thoughts that strike me, see if they grab you too.

Most communities are built around the langskip (longship), figuratively and literally as Tisiphone pointed out. While there are homes, farms, smiths, grainhouses, etc.--at the center of it all is the longhouse: a towering hall of prestige where the people gather to celebrate or mourn, and where the authority of the jarl is seated. This great hall is built into a langskip large enough to hold the full community, together creating a monument as the heart of the clan. It rarely sails, save for when the community must uproot as well, but is built in such a manner that it can do so even amidst the winding shallows with suprenatural strength and grace. Every community had one moored along the river or coast where the clan took root, before the end...

If Northerners are renowned for the pride and care that go into building a ship, then the crafting of the community's heart is more akin to worship. The whole clan takes part in its construction--shaping the beams, weaving the wool, and blessing the halls; which takes at least two focused years to complete well. It is covered in sacred carvings that tell the history of the clan and people, and adorned within by colorfully rich tapestries that hang from massive pillars. It is their gathering, their soul, and their dragon.

For every dragon-ship also binds the spirit of a dragon within its consecrated timbers, with a great carven head at the prow to represent it. Some say that it even used to speak through that wooden maw, before the gods went silent...

I stole some of your phrases word-for-word there Tisiphone, and still left some of your big hooks undefined. But I thought this could really help define in what way this ship becomes the heart of the community: figuratively as its pride and symbol, literally as its physically central position around which the rest of the steading sprawls. My thoughts are also that, should you have one, it is one of the few that remains intact. It is, after all, a vivid symbol of community; which is nothing but a nostalgic myth anymore.


Wrapping up with finals tomorrow, so I'll have something set up by tomorrow night for sure. Right now I'm thinking Ranger for class, though I'm curious if there is something comparable to the Binder or Medium in DW? Basically a character who lets spirits possess him to gain power.


Faust: Great. And take your time. We still have a couple weeks before we'll want to get started, so I'm ok if people still want to mill over character choices.

As for the Binder/Medium, the one example I've seen wasn't put together really well. It's interesting, but I think someone who played it would quickly feel rather 2-dimensional. But if it interests people, I think there's ways to do that like I proposed above for Seth86 with the Monstrous Heritage compendium class.


I take that back, I'm looking again at the full classes that capture souls or can be possessed. And they look more interesting than I remembered. Things for Seth86 to consider as well if they fit what he likes about the Wraithlander.

  • The Shaman - from Deanna Nygren and Trenton Kennedy's Grim World - Creates totems from known spirits that he/she then releases to create wondrous effects. Can also capture spirits as something dies and bind it to a totem. Big flavor on communication with the otherworld.
  • The Geister - from Pleb Publishing's Forsaken Magic - Lives as a host for a spirit that possesses him/her. Everyday you select certain haunts that this spirit can perform through you. You choose what stat is your main (adding big versatility), but also run the risk of pissing off your possessing spirit which can be quite tragic if you do.
  • The Damned - from Damian Jankowski - a powerful cleric forsaken by his/her deity and bearing the mark of this curse. He/she collects souls for rather open ended results (requires creativity!) and has a touch that wilts living things (intentional or not, though you can steer the effects)

So yeah, those three have a component of being possessed by or possessing spirits.


After getting a better look at the captain playbook, I do not think it would fit without a massive rework. I still like the idea of playing the captain or at least owner of our ship though. One idea that comes to mind is some one who is in tune with the dragon spirit. This would this would likely be some sort of Ship Talker custom class. The basic idea is that they are able to bind with the dragon spirits to aid ships and draw on their power in other ways. If the Ship Talker would not work, or steps on others toes, then I will get back to work on the Bear Sarker.


Could I get information about the Geister playbook? That looks fascinating.


Not having any knowledge of this system, haven't read the links yet, I have a concept "brewing". You talked about The Damned and it really made me think "daemons". That lead to Szuriel, the Horseman of War. Of course she would be interested in the Norse, they always fought and stuff.

So, a "cleric" of hers that has fallen into collecting souls, maybe summoning caceodaemons to do it for her, for trading purposes? Just holding on to what power she has left and her daemon minions/allies?

Let me know what you think.


I haven't had time to look into the bear sark or skinwalker further, yet, but that is still what my go-to class concept was, albeit I was seeing it as something the character would 'grow into' rather than 'start out as'.

Am I thinking too far ahead in those terms?


I envision the Bear Sarker mechanically working like a savage monk with a lot of the shape shifting being more flavor.


Nohwear: I am happy to include all sorts of things into your characters fiction, such as being the captain of the ship. People could have a profession, or family members, etc. Not having it as a part of your playbook just means that there aren't defined mechanics for using it. But all of that stuff still greatly affects the fiction (which is most of this game). So someone who claims to be a blacksmith, per se, would be permitted to repair simple things given material and time even though they don't have a move for it. It just makes sense in the story.

As for your ship talker, let me propose something that may sound strange but really could be interesting:

  • Saekonungr (or Sea King).
    Take the Paladin playbook and reflavor it a bit. This may sound like a stretch, but only if you get stuck on the Paladin image of a knight in armor with a white steed and glowing sword. At it's heart, however, a Paladin is a leader and example, devoted to a cause much bigger than himself which empowers him. That fits.

    Mechanically: We would tweak a couple things to really hit the new theme of community leader. I'd say
    (1)swap either "Lay on Hands" or "I Am the Law" for the Cleric's starter move "Divine Guidance", which is how you'd attempt to communicate with the ship's dragon. Whatever you swapped out would be available as a move to pick up with a later level.
    (2)Remove the armored line of moves: Armored, Bloody Aegis, Staunch Defender, Impervious Defender, and Indomitable. And replace them with the niche of Standard Bearer from Class Warfare. We'd flavor the "Banner" to be something that symbolizes the ship, for whenever you all travel away from it, get as creative as we want. You then serve as a proxy for it, inspiring others through it.


It's a cool combination, but only if it grabs you too. Food for thought I suppose.

DM Frogfoot: Sent, sir.

Bigrig107: If it grabs you, that's awesome. I can easily see the norse flavor in that concept and a god who's a horseman of war (though keep in mind that the gods have gone silent). Just a couple points to inspire you:
(1)This isn't Golarion, and we get to create/define the reality together. So if that concept excites you, then grab the stuff you really like and mix up the rest. You aren't confined to Szuriel as he doesn't exist here yet until you create something like him. So make something better!
(2)Since the gods are silent, I have a suggestion. Perhaps you serve a god of war (however you define it) but have found yourself cursed since whatever has occurred to bring about this sort of apocalypse. I love dark characters, but there's the difficult task of reconciling that with the direction currently forming of characters currently in possession of the last remnant of community. So whether my proposal is intriguing or not, you'd want to make sure that you can reconcile that direction. The party will want to work together, even if they don't always see eye to eye!

Tisiphone Cyrin: So that thought with the longhouse built into the ship, imagine this (image) on deck a massive longship.

And a Berserker or Skinwalker can easily be something you plan to "branch into" later. Both have compendium classes, which is what that would become for you. And your thought of being a sword of shield-maiden can work great. I'll look around and see if there's some options already created, or what parts might make it up from Class Warfare.


I like your Sea King idea. I think some sort of captain hat would work for a banner. I am the law would be based more on being captain of a dragon ship. I am not sure if Quest should be Oath or Voyage. The big thing that I am debating is if Lay On Hands should be replaced with some sort of breath weapon.


Hey there. I'm a bit late to the party, but if there's still space, Frogfoot's turned me into a huge fan of dungeonworld, and I'd like to hop in. :)

I'm leaning towards an Elf-touched (Half-elven at level 2) Ranger. The primary role in a shipbased campaign would probably be something of navigator and tracker. :)


Certainly. And if everyone who's expressed interest remains interested, then I may have to select some. That's not something I'm used to doing with indie rpgs. I've found that my maximum capacity is 5 players. Beyond that, things get really crazy, especially in a forum context and a setting without turn order or rounds.

Those who have expressed any interest so far:

  • Seth86 - Something attached to Wraithlander
  • Nohwear - Saekonungr (Sea King Paladin)
  • DM Frogfoot - Skald or Geister?
  • Tisiphone Cyrin - Shield Maiden? ---> Berserker
  • Fraust - Some sort of Dragonslayer
  • Ronetheslayer - thinking
  • Bigrig107 - Damned Cleric of a God of War
  • Hotaru of the Society - Elf-touched Ranger

I'm not sure what we'll do to figure that out, but maybe that'll be strong incentive for helping build this world. Player participation, after all, is one of the things that makes this system so great.

But I really should cut it off now. Because I hate denying people.

Let's move it to the Discussion Thread and let this one sink to the bottom of the recruitment swamp.


Nohwear: I'm writing a reply to your questions over in the Discussion tab.


Will build my character. Plain fighter with your idea

GM:

I like the shadowmancer idea :)


We cool with using battle-captives for manual labor? I was thinking I could be the kind of "bard" who "inspires" the captives into pulling the oars for our ship, like in Ben Hur.

Otherwise I can just as easily be a traveling music-man.


Good question, Frogfoot. I'll relay it in the discussion thread and let the rest answer what they think!

The Exchange

Okay, Ive a mind to play a burly fighter named Prottigr Stein, Old Norse for "Mighty Stone." He's big, somewhat overweight, a little filthy, ruddy cheeked, boisterous and lighthearted. He is approx 35 years old. He wields a massive warhammer that has the (Huge: Messy and forceful) enhancement. He drinks heavy, and beds heavier. Unflinching in combat, Prottigr spent a few years in his youth as a raider, pilaging and murdering all along the coasts. He left that life behind though, to become a mercenary, and has never turned back.

This is a good reference picture for Prottigr
http://fc03.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2013/320/0/d/0d483d41d82168a77b7fb83eaa2c 7ffb-d6uhmt8.jpg

Prottigr will be purely an all out melee character. Never taking the time to master let alone learn any other skills, besides bashing people with his hammer, and consuming alarming levels of ale. Of legendary strength and constitution, Prottigr is litterly like a rock, running through and over enemies, taking blow after blow, and laughing like a maniac throughout. What he excels in strength and toughness, he lacks in speed and agility. I will assume throughout that 8 out of 10 enemies I encounter are faster than Prottigr.

Nor is Protigr of impressive intellect. Barely able to read and write, preferring to let his hammer do the talking. Some people have jokingly teased Prottigr that he must have some giant blood in him. Shrugging at the thought, Prottigr secretly enjoys the idea, and has even passively encouraged the rumor.

My other idea for a character is Aegir Ulfir, an experienced sailor with a secretive past. His name means Sea-Wolf, and any character with knowledge of law and/or local may recognize the name


I like that RonetheSlayer.

I'm not sure if you've seen the Barbarian Playbook or not, but it could really fit your first concept (especially, since everything a barbarian does is Messy and Forceful... so same deal as your weapon but with ALL things). I'll send you a link in just a bit to check out!

Also, I'm pasting this comment to the Discussion thread, as we're moving over there to let the recruitment thread sink off the first page. You did an awesome job of giving me the stuff I just asked the others for!

And if you end up liking the concept of Aegir Ulfir better, let me know and we'll swap it... easy change.

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