Opening Verse of the Saga of the Bear-Folk (Revised)

I recently updated my opening poem to the Saga of the Bear-folk, with that I needed to update the language. Here is the updated poem! I've also begun to create the language of the Fae creatures in the adventure I've been writing.

Blood Clans of Jorikk Facebook Page


Skarrn:

Lo!

Hjer byrja ferdhalakkar fra Bjorgdunar

Jog fra aegisagr thaejar…

Thekksagr byrja

Hvenr runekorn avsolja

Idh Rytarrskegg

Harrik, viedunnath-megg

Rugla megg skjirkorn

Seiflath fra Bjordunnar, Ivrik Arnbjorg dun nuldorn

Nefingja brrodhath halkur dhing

Tala fra gothing

Avsulta hultn

Brrodh fra gultn

Bafudhra tredhorn

fra runekorn

Harrik fra viedunnath-megg sorn

"Ath finga korn,

Sjodmad, sithur Nartr-frottr

Strarg fra assmattr.”

Thar a mokkithr vittegg

droppen far mugg fjltegg

fjltegg sithur himokk

Unni gothing slettlokk”

Translation:

Lo! 

Here begins the journey of the Bear-Folk,

and their Epic Saga

This story does begin,

When a rune-stone was discovered

In Rytarrskegg

By a fisherman called Harrik

Bemused by the strange monolith,

The Bjordunnar Chief, a man named Ivrik Arnbjorg

Called forth the the clan for a meeting

To discuss this discovery

It was decided,

That a group of warriors,

Be sent to investigate 

The rune-stone

Harrik the Fisherman said,

“That to find the stone,

One was sail north-east

along the coast.”

Until a great white tree

is spotted at the mouth of a river

Then one must sail up river

Until you come across a placid lake.”

Saga of the Bear-Folk: A Strange Forest Part I.

The Bear-Folk were awoken by the warble of a loon and the trickling of a creek. They discovered they were no longer in the hall of Faeinuldi and his wife Astra. They were on the banks of a babbling brook. Another runestone, though this one only had one rune displayed, was cloaked in moss on the opposite bank. Whispers could be heard among the leaves and branches of the timber stands surrounding them. The ship they traveled up the river in was nestled among some trees. Ivrik cried out, “What sort of Fae hell have we been sent too!?” 

Mjorl was the first to stand and as he reached for his sword, his belt mysteriously undid itself and fell to the ground. The whispers among the trees turned into laughter. Mjorl drew his blade and called out to the voices, demanding they show themselves. Kol decided to go back to sleep, but there was a cracking and a branch fell and hit him in the face! An acorn was tossed from among the branches and hit Ivrik in the temple. This was followed by a chorus of laughter.

Suddenly the laughter stopped and the forest was silent, save for the flapping of large wings. There was a horrendous screeching and a monstrous creature crashed through the canopy. It had the body of an elk, and colorful feathered wings instead of fore-legs and it’s back legs had the appearance of an eagle. Screams of horror come from the branches and the zipping sounds fill the forest as the beast snapped at what appeared to be empty air. 

The beast spotted the band, and lunged at them. Riddare and Mjorl fired arrows into it’s side, while Ivrik, Kol, and Mjorla’s blades sang. The monster flew up and streaked towards Ivrik, knocking him to the ground. It’s jaws gnashed at Ivrik who swung his great blade and severed it’s head. Blood splashed over his face.

Once the beast was felled, Torgar noticed something near the stream, a sparkling light. He discovered a pixie weeping on a rock, whose name was Blooma. Her crimson hair was mangled and tiny tears streamed down her cheeks. One of her wings, which appeared as those of a butterfly, had been torn off. 

Riddare looked over Torgar’s shoulder and asked, “What is it?Some sort of bug?” Torgar informed him that it was a pixie. Torgar asked the pixie if she was okay.

“Halugaashi tsauttaa minaashni! Nie suyotaarve etta mimasaa Mieselk…” wept the pixie. Torgar scooped up the pixie, and she gripped his hand and her hand glowed, and then he could understand her.

“Please help me!” she repeated, “I need to see Mieselk!” When the asked who Mieselk was, she told them that he was one of the guardians of the forest. She was afraid of the dead creature. When Torgar asked her about the runes and began to draw the runes in the dirt, she got scared and erased the marks, saying that Torgar shouldn’t draw those. Because the “Queen” would appear. They asked who the Queen was, but the pixie wouldn’t say. 

Thus they set off to find the guardian named Mieselk.

Blood Clans of Jorikk Facebook Page


**This is my account of the events of the Saga of the Bear-Folk

Saga of the Bear-Folk: The Mysterious Runestone Part II.

They drank, mead, ale and beor, and told stories of their adventures. Kol told of how he slayed a great sea serpent, but Ivrik discounted the tale, saying that he was releiving himself and Kol was drunk and mistook Ivrik’s manhood as a serpent. This story made Faeinuldi giggle, and Astra blush. Torgar told a story of how he once had an owl but it escaped. Faeinuldi roared with laughter. 

The Twins, Mjorl and Mjorla were suspicious of Faeinuldi and Astra. Mjorl, sulked in the corner and Mjorla noticed something moving beneath Astra’s cloak, that despite the room being very warm, she did not remove. Mjorl made to grab Astra’s cloak off but Astra’s grip was tight. Faeinuldi explained that Astra got cold easy.

“But I saw something moving under the cloak!” exclaimed Mjorla.

“Astra, did you hide another snake under your cloak again? Hehehehe!?” asked Faeinuldi. Astra nodded, and Faeinuldi told her to take it outside. 

Mjorla made to sneak after Astra, but Faeinuldi wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Ivrik upon seeing this drew his great-sword and pointed it at Faeinuldi.

“Unhand her! She goes where she wishes!” he growled. Faeinuldi’s eyes twinkled, as if he sensed Ivrik’s interest in the shield-maiden, and he released her. Mjorla stole out the back door, but could not see if there was truly a snake beneath Astra’s cloak.

Astra then made to tell the party’s fortunes. She tossed an oily smelling herb into the fire, and the putrid smoke filled the hall. Ivrik choked and had to leave to regain his breath. Once he returned, Astra’s eyes rolled back in her head and she shook and twitched and then she began to speak.

From forests dark,

To rivers deep,

And through eldritch,

And strange lands

You will face many hardships,

But should you succeed,

Your names will be remembered,

In song and poem.

Cattle die, Giants die,

One day you too will die,

But a brave soul will never perish,

When a man earns praise and fame.

That night, every one of the party except for Ridarre and Kol, who chose to sleep in one of the beds offered by Faeinuldi and Astra; chose to sleep by the hearth of the main room. Mjorla decided that they should keep watch and she would stay awake, and wake her brother in a few hours.

While Mjorla sat there, watching the flickering tongues of fire, she saw a head fire-hair appear in the corner of her eye. Astra had appeared next to Mjorla, pale skin, and buxom breasts illuminated by the hearth light. Astra seductivly began to kiss Mjorla’s neck. Mjorla felt something brush her other arm and looked to see the tale of a cow extending from Astra’s backside. She pushed Astra away, and upon doing so discovered that Astra’s back was hollow, like a rotted log. Recoiling in fear, Mjorla reached for a weapon, but before she could do so, Astra firmly planted her lips on Mjorla’s; and Mjorla knew no more.


Blood Clans of Jorikk Facebook Page


**This is my account of the events of the Saga of the Bear-Folk

Saga of the Bear-Folk: The Mysterious Runestone Part I.

Lo! Here begins the journey of the Bear-Folk and their Epic Saga. This story does begin when a runestone was discovered by Harrik the the Fisherman, on the banks of his favorite fishing spot. Bemused by the strange monolith the Bjordunnar Chief, Ivrik Arnbjorg called forth the clan to discuss this discovery. It was decided that a group of warriors be sent to investigate the mysterious stone. Harrik the Fisherman said, “That to find the stone one must sail north-east along the coast of the Joraklokk, until you spot a great white tree on the banks of a river. Then sail up the river until you come across a placid lake.

Now the warriors who were sent were:

Ivrik Ivrikson, the chief’s son.

Riddare, the huntsman

Kol, the berserker

Torgar Holslakket (Goat-Puncher), the sage and healer

and the twins, 

Mjorl, the woodsman, 

and Mjorla the stealthy one.

They followed Harrik’s directions, sailed north-east from Bjorgsulla, and found the great white tree. They turned up river and began to row. The trees grew dark as they sailed up the twisting river. They came across an arch made from twisted branches and vines and as they passed through they were blinded by sunlight.

The found the crystalline lake. White stones made up the beach, and a great stone, twice as tall as any Dunvig jutted from the shoreline. The band was cautious, and were nervous to wade ashore.

Ivrik was the first to jump into the lake, when he spotted a beautiful maiden coming out from the trees. The maid, whom was called Astra, had hair of fire, and skin of freshly fallen snow. She was surprised to see the Bear-folk and dropped the basket of clothes she carried. Ivrik called out to Astra, asking where they were. Astra spoke with an archaic voice and told Ivrik that he was at Kristaltarn, and she lived at Kristaltarn Halkkr. Now, Ivrik nor any of the others knew of a settlement by that name in the area.

Emboldened by Ivrik’s bravery the rest of the party came ashore. Kol, and Mjorla joined Ivrik in speaking with Astra, while Torgar, Riddare and Mjorl inspected the runestone. Torgar had seen the runes that covered the monolith, before and identified them as the runes of the Fae and Faeynir, though they came from the time when the world was still young.

While their conversation with Astra, a pack of wolves leapt out of the trees. Astra screamed and ran to hide behind the Bear-Folk. The wolves fell upon the warriors. Mjorla was bitten but was able to slay her attacker with help from Kol and Ivrik. One of the beasts clamped it’s jaws around Mjorl’s helm, but was able to finish the creature off with the help of Torgar; who single handedly beat one of the wargs off with just his staff! During the fray Mjorla was touched by Astra and her wounds were magically healed. 

Astra graciously thanked the brave band, and asked them if they would like to stay and have dinner with her husband. Ivrik asked Astra who her husband was and she simply responded with a list of many personal names; saying that her husband had many names. The party warily headed towards the hall, carrying the carcasses of the wolves, so that Astra may skin them later.

They walked along a path that lead up to the Hall. During their trek they discussed how things didn’t feel like. Torgar, being a druid was the most unnerved by the seemingly magical things that were happening. 

They halted when Mjorl spotted a tall lanky man with balding hair and a scraggly beard perched atop a log, watching them. He called out and weapons were drawn.

 Ivrik called out to the man, “Lo!who goes there!” The man stood and came towards them. 

He giggled as he approached. “I should be asking you the same things! You are on my land! Hehehehe! I am called Faeinuldi!” 

“Why were you crouched on that log?” questioned Torgar. 

“Hehehehe! Why do you carry a staff?”retorted Faeinuldi. They spoke for a little longer, until Faeinuldi lead them to the hall.

The ‘hall’ as Faeinuldi called it was little more than a longhouse. The Bear-folk did not enter, but instead discussed among themselves. They did not trust Faeinuldi and his wife, Astra. The decision was made that Mjorl, Torgar, and Riddare, would go back and check on the boat and try to learn more about the runestone, and Ivrik, Kol, and Mjorla would entertain Faeinuldi.

Mjorl, Torgar, and Riddare headed back towards the beach they met Astra returning from the lake side. She smiled at them and few words were exchanged about the evening meal. Mjorl warned Torgar to not touch the stone, but Torgar’s curiosity got the better of him. He felt a strange energy around the stone and when he touched it he felt power course through his body. They headed back to the hall as the sun began to sink below the trees. Every young Dunvig knows that Rytarrskegg is a dangerous place at night, especially among unfamiliar trees.

Back in the hall, Faeinuldi happily played the good host. “Skroll to the host! A guest in the hall, where should the stranger sit down? Hehehehe! To make a new friend, quickly give him the bench nearest the fire! Hehehehe!” He offered them horns and drinks. Kol and Ivrik gulped from horns of an aurochs, while Mjorla suspiciously sipped from her own flask.

Once regrouped, the Bear-folk learned that Faeinuldi had put the stone their and had created the runes during a flash of insight while swinging from an ash tree, and that Astra could use the runes to see into the future, as most sages and seers do. They agreed and decided that they would hear the fortunes to be told after the evening meal.

Blood Clans of Jorikk Facebook Page

**This is my account of the events of the Saga of the Bear-Folk

Bolt Action, Tank War After Action Report: Feb 18th 2015, "I'm not telling the Fuhrer"

I took command of the German Forces. As the game grew more intense, I began to forget to take pictures of the action....

Germany:
Panther 112 "Walküre"

The Battlefield

Panther 102
Panther 221
Panzer IV 634
Panzer IV 635
Panzer IV 321
Sd. Kfz. 124 Wespe "Heidi"

US/UK:
Churchhill Heavy Tank.
Sherman "Bullet"
Sherman "Bunker Buster"
Sherman "Battling Bitch"
Sherman "Block Buster"
Sherman "Potshot"
Sherman "Thunderbolt"
Sherman "Thunderbolt VII"

Turn 1

• The Panther platoon manuvered to gain the first shots of the day. Walkure and Pnthr 102 both fired warning shots towards the advancing Allied columns (Fig. 1)

  

  Fig. 1

Turn 2

• Bullet gets placed on ambush, and the Churchhilll knocks out Pnthr 221 with a fierce blow to the side armor (Fig. 2)
• Walkure then fires upon the Churchhills front armor with no effect.

Turn 3

• Walkure draws the first dice and blasts a hole through the

  

  Fig. 2

  Churchhill's front armor. (Fig 3)
• Pnthr 102 is placed on ambush to lay waste to any of those matchboxes that dared to cross it's path.
• Bullet pulls up to a gap in the hedgerows and penetrates Pnzr 321's front armor, rendering the former piece of glorious German engineering a flaming wreck (Fig 4)
• Pnzr 634 fires at bullet but put a round through the dense hedgerow instead!
• Battling Bitch drives through a grove of trees, and falls into Pnthr 102's trap! But again the Panther's shells fail to penetrate... Curse that cute french girl in the factory! Tampering with the ammunition! I shall speak with her

  

  Fig. 3

  supervisor! (Fig. 5)
• Battling Bitch returns fire, but the puny American shells bounce off the superior armor of the Third Reich!
• Heidi wheels up into a ruined house and goes on ambush.
• Potshot takes a potshot at Walkure from max range!

Turn 4

• Bullet drives through it's firing gap and lands a crippling blow to the open carriage of Heidi. (Fig. 6)
• Pnzr 634 needed to align his sights as he fires widely

  

  Fig. 4

  missing Bullet
• Pnthr 102 takes another shot at Battling Bitch! but again misses. It was at this point where the German tankers started to ask themselves, "Are we the baddies? Is God against us?"
• Battling Bitch moves out of Pnthr 102's arc of fire and takes a shot at Walkure
• The crew of Walkure returns fire and scores a hit, shaking the already minuscule will of the crew of Battling Bitch
• Pnzr 635 drives through the forest, and quickly brings his turret to bare, shattering the chassis of Bullet

Fig. 5

Turn 5

• Pnthr 102 manuvers and gains a side shot on Battling Bitch and blows a hole through the paper thin armor!
• Pnzr 635 fires a horrendous blow to Bunker Buster, knocking it out.
• Walkure displays the superior marksmanship of German tankers!

Turn 6

• Thunderbolt VII fires at Pnthr 102 and scores a luck hit knocking out Pnthr 102

  

  Fig. 6

Turn 7

• Thunderbolt is placed on ambush
• Pnzr 634 spots Potshot and fires. But due to the dust and smoke thrown up by the fierce fighting misses.
• Potshot fires a salvo catching Pnzr 634. The crew of Pnzr 634 abandoned the vehicle was consumed in a blazing inferno.
• Thunderbolt VII scores a hit on Walkure, destroying it.

The game ends with major heavy losses for the Germans, and heavy losses for the Allies.
The final words of the German Commander, "I'm not telling the Fuhrer"

Why "A Song of Ice and Fire" has Ruined Traditional Fantasy for Me

So most people have heard of HBO's "Game of Thrones" series based upon George R.R. Martin's epic fantasy series "A Song of Ice and Fire". ASoIaF is based around the conflict engulfing the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros. It involves Intrigue, Murder, War, Sex, all mixed in with magic and dragons. All this has been combined masterfully into a sweeping epic of vast proportions, spanning hundreds of characters and viewpoints.

Now I was late to the party, discovering a Game of Thrones after the end of Season 2. I began watching the show and was immediately drawn into the world. I fell in love with the gritty realism of the world and how it showed "real" characters each with flaws and desires. Nothing was as it seemed. No one is safe.  In the words of Cersei Lannister, "When you play the game of thrones you win or you die... There is no middle ground."
Now before you say "Oh the books are so much better than the show". I still am in the process of reading the books, I am on "A Feast for Crows". Also, shut up. The show has exposed more people to the world of Westeros than if they had remained books. And if they really wanted to have the full experience I would encourage them to pick up the books and read them.

Being a history buff, the rich mythology and histories that make up the world of Westeros and Essos, gave me immense joy. Having loved reading Tolkien and his wonderful mythos woven for Middle Earth,  discovering the past of Westeros has been wonderful experience.

Now, onto my point. In the world of Westeros, there is NO good or evil (Not including the Others). Only varying shades of grey. Life or Death... Survival. Now I have been playing D&D, and other various RPGs for about six years now and a well known staple of D&D is the Alignment Chart. The Alignment Chart places every character into a strict, well... Alignment. The Character has no ability to act outside of their Alignment under threat of being turned evil, in which causes them to be hunted down and killed. Because Evil is bad.

Now, while reading aSoIaF and other various genres, I have become disenfranchised with the strict alignment system. Being forced to choose "Chaotic Neutral" Alignment, to allow my character to make choices that can be perceived as good or evil depending on the situation.  Having a character that choses based on their experiences and emotions, makes for a more interesting character to play and read. Even an Evil person does not think he/she is doing evil.

Example: I'm playing a character who constantly is seeking the answer to a question posed to him by a colleague who disappeared. The question, "What is the Truth?". My character wants to better the world by finding out the Truth. He genuinely wants to help, though he does so his own way. So I assigned him the example of Chaotic Good.  Now my character is a Wizard of the Divination School. He has spent numerous years of his life staring into the stars asking himself what is out there? He as spent so much time trying to learn "The Truth" from "The Stars" (a mystical force who he believes provides him with his visions and glimpses), that he has forgotten his own age, saying, "Somewhere between 100 and 500." Now this line of thought has driven him to believing in Chaos. He has become in awe of the vastness of the cosmos and the unpredictable surf of reality. Because of this, he thinks in grand terms while still holding on the the smaller things. He just made "friends" with a miserable little urchin on a dismal isle.

Now this character would rather uncover a great mystery, even if it meant the destruction of a civilization. To him this would be even more great of a gift because to him, that brings him one more step closer to the Truth which he plans to use to bring the world into an "Age of Light". Is this wrong in his eyes? No. He thinks he is helping the people of Faerun.

But this is generally considered a Chaotic act and would fall under the Chaotic Neutral Alignment.

In the words of George R.R. Martin,

"I love fantasy and I’ve been reading it all my life, but I’m also very conscious of its flaws. One of the things that drives me crazy is the externalization of evil, where evil comes from the “Dark Lord” who sits in his dark palace with his dark minions who all wear black and are very ugly. I’ve deliberately played with that, where you have the Night’s Watch who even though they are filled with thieves and poachers and rapers are heroic people — but they all wear black. And then there are the Lannisters who are tall and fair but aren’t the nicest people."

This. This is why traditional fantasy has become so dull to me. I know who the BBEG is. He's that asshole sitting up in his spiky black tower or fortress, surrounded by hordes of Orcs, demons and other nasty beasts. That's no fun. It's more interesting to not know who the bad guy is. In our world, there is no BBEG. Just people. People trying to survive.

This is why George R.R. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" has ruined fantasy for me. It has made me wish for something more real. Which has in turn influenced my own writing style.

Remember, Valar Morghulis, "All men must die".

Lamentations of the Flame Princess Review (Mechanics and Rules)

Character Generation

Character generation is similar to most D20 systems. You role 3d6 (three six-sided dice), six times to determine your Ability Scores; Charisma, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength and Wisdom. Players start at 'Level 0', similar to in Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC). 

Classes

The class system is similar to AD&D and DCC, where you are a human or a non-human race. The classes in LotFP are [human] Cleric, Fighter, Magic-User, and Specialist. The other races, called 'demi-humans' are Elf, Halfling, and Dwarf. As in every other D20 system each class has a certain die (hit dice/HD) that they role to determine health points (HP). Each time a player levels up they role the proper hit dice. Though in LotFP, after level ten each class adds a fixed HP value for every level afterwards.

LotFP has a unique saving throw mechanic. Instead of having individual saving throws for spells and items, each class has its own set of Saving Throw DCs (Difficulty Check). These categories are: Paralyzation, Poison, Breath Weapon, Magical Device, and Magic. 

• Paralyzation covers any effect where the target is unable to move (like a Hold Person, or Web spell). 
• Poison is for any situation where HP is irrelevant, and where a fail could result in unconsciousness or death. 
• Breath Weapon is used for area of effects.
• Magical Device is for when the target is being effected of a magical item, such as a wand, ring, staff, etc.
• Magic is resistance against spells or magical abilities.

I'm not sure how I feel about this set of rules just yet.

Alignment

Alignment is not as stark black and white as in other systems. You have only three alignments to choose from, Lawful, Chaotic, and Neutral. I think I prefer this to the Alignment charts of Pathfinder or D&D. It gives the world a more 'grey' tone.


Encounters
Most experienced RPG players are familiar with the term 'encounter'. But for those of you that a reading this that are not experienced RPG players; an encounter is usually some form of combat, though not always. Meeting a monster or NPC and trying to best them. Encounters are typically the main way to gain experience points (XP). They are usually governed by initiative, the order in which the characters and NPCs act. A turn or round, of an encounter (when every character in initiative has acted) usually lasts anywhere from five to thirty seconds of in-game time, depending on the game you are playing. I use turn as in, 'Each character has a turn every round'.

There are two methods of initiative in LotFP.

• One player rolls a d6 for the PC's side and the GM rolls a d6 for the opposition. The winner acts first.
  I personally don't like this. I feel it could potentially lead to an encounter becoming one sided.
• The second method is more to my liking. Each player rolls a d6 and the GM rolls a d6 for each different type of creature they are facing. 

There are lost of different things one can do on their turn, and I won't go into it here.

Monsters

There is nothing about Monsters in the 'Rules and Magic' book. Though looking through the two modules I have It appears that monsters do not have the usual 'stat block' of other RPG systems. It gives you an Armor Class, Movement, Hit Dice, HP, Attack, and Morale, and then any any special attack or ability the creature has. I'm not so sure how this will play out in-game but it does make reading monster stats a lot simpler.

All in all I can't wait to play this for Free RPG Day. I like the dark feeling I get by reading the modules. and the system seems very clean and non-spread sheet like.

Lamentations of the Flame Princess (Pre-Play/Quick Read Through) Review

I have recently picked up the Lamentations of the Flame Princess "Rules and Magic" Book at The Wyvern's Tale (the friendly local game store). I have only flipped through it a couple of times and have not actually read through the rules. Though from what I have read it appears to be a D20 based system. The book itself does bare the the "18+ Explicit Content Warning". It is classified as a "Weird Fantasy" so I expect that when the Referee Book and the Bestiary comes out it will have some Lovecraftian type monsters and story elements.

The 2013 Free RPG Module "Better Than Any Man" takes place in medieval Germany. I picked it up last year but haven't had the chance to play it. The setting is incredibly dark and I find it a nice break from the fairy tale sort of settings that seem to be common in games such as "Pathfinder " (by Paizo Publishing) and Dungeons and Dragons 4e (by Wizards of the Coast). Now don't get me wrong I love both of those games and I took part of the play testing of D&D Next. But I have been yearning for a darker more gritty setting. I have been playing the Song Of Ice and Fire RPG, which accurately displays the feel and setting of the novels.  In my humble opinion I find that even with a quick read of this game, it definitely gives the world a incredibly gritty feel.

The artwork in the module and book is delightful. Mixing Old School artwork like those found in AD&D and the more recent Dungeon Crawl Classics, with modern style fantasy artwork. I have shared some that I found via Google. But most of the artwork, I would classify as NSFW.

All in all, I look forward to playing this game at Free RPG Day on June 21st. If you are in the Asheville Area, I will be running the 2014 Free RPG Day adventure at The Wyvern's Tale, I encourage you to join us!

Get the rules for free Here! It does not contain any of the art. So, I encourage you to go and buy the hardcover book at your FLGS so you can see the beautiful and disturbing artwork!