WICKED PRESS is proud to announce WYRD, a new roleplaying game by SCOTT KNIPE. While fans can download a free version at http://speardanes.homestead.com/main.html and obtain an ashcan version this year at Gen-Con, Wicked Press plans on publishing a full version in the first few months of 2002.

"WYRD is one of the most innovative, original and downright FUN roleplaying games I've seen in a long time," said Wicked Press owner John Wick. "I'm proud to be working with Scott. He's got an intuitive understanding of the source material, and it shows in his writing and game design. I encourage EVERYBODY to go check out the freeware version of WYRD right now and get a taste of what they'll be getting from the full version."

The full print version of WYRD will be available in the first quarter of 2002. Further details will be made available as soon as possible.

Thanks for the glowing reviews, John. It has been a real privilege to work with Wicked Press, and I look forward to the rest of the process. :smile:


Everyone else,

The rules are currently on hiatus from my website, but I'll have them back up within 12 hours (I'd have them up sooner, but I have to work tonight). Of course, I can't show you guys everything, but I think I can give you a taste of how the rules are evolving on their way to publication...

[Edited, 11:00 PM: Okay, the site is updated now with a sneak peak at the ashcan. It doesn't look too great right now, but I'll fix it up a bit in the morning. Now I'm off to work.]

[ This Message was edited by: hardcoremoose on 2001-07-26 23:03 ]

I would say, just froma cursory glance at the website, that Wyrd definitely fits into my category of "pushing what RPGs are & can be". It looks interesting.

I was running down Wyrd yesterday (I can hardly wait, I love Norse mythology. I've always preferred the viking response to grim fatalism over that of the neogoth)

But I ran into some questions (no doubt which will be clearer in the final version) that have to do with cycles and adding to passions.

If I'm reading things right, I start with a bunch of stones in my purse...say 30. I then draw these stones a handful at a time (based on my Passion) for Runecasting. Each cast I lose 1 stone permanently and the rest temporarily. So assumeing a Passions of 3-5 range that means I get somewhere between 6 and 10 (call it :cool: Runecasts before a new cycle begins. The next cycle I'll get my temporary stones back (the Hoard) which will only total 22, so I'm on the way to meeting my doom.

Assuming I have that correct, here are my questions. If every stone spent also earns me 1 point of Passion than after the first cycle, a mere 8 Runecasts in this example, my character will have gone from initial Passions of 10 to a Passion of 40. The combination of having fewer stones in my purse and higher Passion ratings will result in fewer casts per cycle and a lower number of stones being permanently lost (because each casting is bigger). So the second cycle I might make only 3-4 casts before running out of stones and starting my next cycle with only 18. But that will equal another 22 Passion for a total of 62.

Continuing on with the example, I'd eventually make 30 Runecasts (losing 1 each cast), go through 16 cycles and add 164 points worth of Passions. That seems a little extreme to go from 10 points of Passion to 174, which is what leads me to think I'm missing something.

Also, what happens when the size of the Passion requires drawing more stones for the cast than currently exist in the purse?

You only get an increase (or a decrease) for every white 'stone permanently removed. So that gives you a max Passion of 20. Period. (And pray that you never have such a thing, because that means all you've got left are black 'stones! You're hero's life, from there on in, goes straight down the toilet...) Also, you do not get to refill your bag if you run out of 'stones. Let's say you have a Passion of 12, but only 11 'stones in your bag to draw. You only get 11 'stones to draw. (Please note, when you draw a white 'stone, you CAN choose to decrease a current Passion rather than increase it. Having too high a Passion can be a very bad thing if you draw a lot of black 'stones...)

Daniel

On 2001-08-01 14:23, archangel_2 wrote:
You only get an increase (or a decrease) for every white 'stone permanently removed. So that gives you a max Passion of 20. Period. (And pray that you never have such a thing, because that means all you've got left are black 'stones! You're hero's life, from there on in, goes straight down the toilet...) Also, you do not get to refill your bag if you run out of 'stones. Let's say you have a Passion of 12, but only 11 'stones in your bag to draw. You only get 11 'stones to draw. (Please note, when you draw a white 'stone, you CAN choose to decrease a current Passion rather than increase it. Having too high a Passion can be a very bad thing if you draw a lot of black 'stones...)

Daniel

Val and Archangel,

Thanks for the comments guys. You're both right...sort of.

Originally (in the first set of rules I posted) you only earned points in Passions for Heroic stones. Not so anymore...Passions can be good and bad, and thus you earn raises in them for both types of stones. That revision came about as I was reworking the rules for the ashcan, and I think it's much more in keeping with the source material.

And yes, each runecasting results in the loss of one stone temporarily. All the rest go back to your purse. You only lose a stone permanently when it is the last runecasting of a cycle.

I agree that the presentation is a bit off. Part of that was time constraint - I was desperately trying to get the ashcan done for GenCon, and just didn't have the time to make it as clean as I would like. The other part was pure confusion on my part; I have never seen a game with a mechanic quite like this, and so I struggled a bit while trying to illustrate its salient points. Examples of play will be a great benefit to the text, as will a nice rewrite of the rules.

Thanks for the praise, and now for a question:

John and I have been talking about what we should include in the book. We have some great ideas, but what would you Viking enthusiasts like to see? Let's get a discussion going about this baby and see what we can come up with!

Take care,
Scott
AKA, Hardcore Moose
AKA, Thrym

Well, here's a couple off the top of my head.

For play examples take an actual excerpt from a viking legend like the Icelandic Sagas or something (after investigating various copyright stuff, oc). Then (perhaps in side by side fashion) illustrate how that scene could have been achieved through the game mechanics..."here Harald has called upon his Passion for X and drawn several Tragic stones". That will serve both as mechanic examples, and mood setting.

Finding a way to incorporate actual Rune Stones into the game would be very cool. Perhaps 1 or several runes could be drawn from a seperate bag and the outcome of the "Rune cast" would have to be narrated as some interpretation of the Futhark meaning. I don't know how much of the Futhark Rune interpretations are historical and how much are new age spiritual revisionism, but in terms of capturing nordic flavor they would seem almost required in some form.

Question: How much "sourcebook" are you planning on including with the game. Is the game going to be mostly actual rules and leave the source material to actually reading the legends, or will you be including some source material.
I would suggest including stuff that isn't readily available in the legends but that are important to knowing what your character knows. Things like what a hall looks like, how a village is organized and what is available there. Hierachies and duties and responsibilities, forms of address, what items of technology are common place.

This last is often important and overlooked in many games. We just started a Cthulhu 1920s campaign, and I was amazed at how difficult it was to discover if flashlights existed in 1920.

Immersion is often in such minutia.

>1) I know absolutely crap about the Futhark alphabet....

I know a bit about it, but not enough to add it in the game at this point.

>2) I was trying less to simulate real Viking culture than I was to emulate the literature that grew out of that culture.

And that's why I'd hesitate to add a _new_ and _different_ mechanic to an existing system. Don't try to fix what ain't broken.

>3) Who has Futhark runes laying around just to play a game?

Nobody.
Yeah, sure, there's a couple of you out there who do. But that's not a valid argument for putting a _manditory mechanic_ using an _external resource_ in a game. I wanted to use Tarot cards for 7th Sea (still have the mechanic in my back pocket), but it's just rude. "Hey, great! You bought my game! Now, in order to play it, you have to go out to an obscure bookstore (which most people don't have in their home town) and make another ten to fifteen dollar purchase, okay?"

>Of course, these are just ideas I have, and everything must get by my editor's pen first (right John?). :smile:

Damn straight, Mighty Thrym.

Take care,
John

"Go hide in a hole if you like. The Allfather set your skein long ago."
- Skald, The Thirteenth Warrior

[ This Message was edited by: John Wick on 2001-08-08 13:46 ]

On 2001-08-07 22:08, hardcoremoose wrote:

3) Who has Futhark runes laying around just to play a game?

well I have zero knowledge of authentic historical rune lore. But I was thinking something along the lines of the "rune reading" at http://www.facade.com used to generate some plot ideas. Perhaps something akin to 7th Seas "Destiny Spread" of tarot, or perhaps as a device to generate a scenario or sub plot.

For example I just went there and did a three rune reading and came up with:

What do you learn from the leftmost rune, that representing the journey towards your destination?

Sowelu is a strong symbol, for it represents the sun. Unlike equatorial cultures that may see the sun as a harsh and imperial force capable of causing droughts, in the cold north the sun is a purely feminine force that gives life and allows crops to grow. In dark times, this rune represents clarity of sight and the victory of good over evil. Sowelu is irreversible, as the cycles of the sun and seasons are perpetual.


What do you learn from the center rune, that representing your present situation?

Tyr was the Norse god of war. It was through his sacrifice that the great force of chaos, the wolf Fenrir was bound. Here however, you have drawn the rune reversed. This could mean that a sacrifice made will not lead to the desired result. It could also mean a loss, or a victory overturned. This rune warns against entering into conflicts or negotiations, especially ones requiring that an offering or concession be made - the wolf might take your hand and yet remain unbound. Note also that Tyr was the god of law, so there is a suggestion of a wrongdoer who will avoid justice.


What do you learn from the rightmost rune, that representing your final destination?

Raido means to ride. In this rune, the image is not so much the riding of a horse as in riding in a cart or as cargo. As such Raido may suggest a journey, but is much more indicative of communication. Alternate interpretations based on the use of Raido as a cognate in other words give it the meaning of council, judgment, and moral correctness. Therefore, this rune is the rune of wise advice and good leadership.

That's a good use of runes for the game. I've used tarot in games, mostly when PC does a reading and I steal from the reading for plot elements.

For more on modern/historical runelore, check out Edred Thorsson's books, especialy Futhark: A handbook of rune magic and Runelore.

Lon

>1) I know absolutely crap about the Futhark alphabet....

I know a bit about it, but not enough to add it in the game at this point.

>2) I was trying less to simulate real Viking culture than I was to emulate the literature that grew out of that culture.

And that's why I'd hesitate to add a _new_ and _different_ mechanic to an existing system. Don't try to fix what ain't broken.

>3) Who has Futhark runes laying around just to play a game?

Nobody.
Yeah, sure, there's a couple of you out there who do. But that's not a valid argument for putting a _manditory mechanic_ using an _external resource_ in a game. I wanted to use Tarot cards for 7th Sea (still have the mechanic in my back pocket), but it's just rude. "Hey, great! You bought my game! Now, in order to play it, you have to go out to an obscure bookstore (which most people don't have in their home town) and make another ten to fifteen dollar purchase, okay?"

>Of course, these are just ideas I have, and everything must get by my editor's pen first (right John?).

Damn straight, Mighty Thrym.

Take care,
John

"Go hide in a hole if you like. The Allfather set your skein long ago."
- Skald, The Thirteenth Warrior

On 2001-08-08 14:58, John Wick wrote:
I wanted to use Tarot cards for 7th Sea (still have the mechanic in my back pocket), but it's just rude. "Hey, great! You bought my game! Now, in order to play it, you have to go out to an obscure bookstore (which most people don't have in their home town) and make another ten to fifteen dollar purchase, okay?"

"Go hide in a hole if you like. The Allfather set your skein long ago."
- Skald, The Thirteenth Warrior

"Go hide in a hole if you like. The Allfather set your skein long ago."
- Skald, The Thirteenth Warrior

Oohh, neat thought. As you know from GenCon, I'm firmly on the "must have Futhark" side of the argument. But then I was reading Pauls new game TWTFTD, and when I came back here, something dawned on me.

In Paul's game you customize a die as part of chargen. In Wyrd chargen could include making up your character's runes. This woould be really cool, and represents to an extent the Norns building the basis of the character's life. In fact you could make an intro stanza that had one line for each rune that indicates that the characters are fated to have these elements in their lives.

The actual Futhark doesn't matter. Just have a character scribble on cardboard squares, or pieces of paper, or whatever, ideograms that remind him of the sorts of virtues and descriptions, etc. that the character should have. They can even be things that aren't asociated with the character like strength or wit, but other archtypical things like travel or war. Anything, really that the player feels would influence the course of the character's life.

Players who do know (or have a set of) Futhark could use those runes if they like. For those who are artistically challenged, just write a word. After all, aren't words our iconic representations of concepts in the modern world? Use whatever you like to make your runes just so that you can interperet them. (I see a lit of Arioch chaos runes from Elric for some characters). For runes that look the same right-side-up or upside-down, indicate a bottom with a line or dot as is done for 6's and 9's on dice. Runes drawn would be placed as drawn right-side-up or upside-down, which would determine heroic or tragic consequences. For those runes Narration would revolve around the kinds of runes drawn.

Whadda ya think? :smile:

Mike

I actually kind of like this idea...as a possible optional rule.

If I were to do it, I would use cardboard chips of identical size and shape, but of two different color. The colors would represent the standard allotment of Tragic and Heroic stones, and if you wanted, you could scribble a rune onto some or all of your chips. When drawn, the rune could then be "interpreted" into your narration somehow. Doing it this way, you are staying true to the basic rules of WYRD (which are at this point nearly immuntable), but adding some guidelines to the possible narration of the Saga.

This is cool enough, and simple enough, that I might recommend it as an optional way of playing WYRD.

In fact...

I am still thinking up stuff for what will eventually be a Ring-Giver's chapter. I have some ideas for a reward system that include the Ring-Giver awarding temporary stones of a third color that add a little variety to a Skald's purse (for those times when his Saga is getting a little stale). To date, all of my ideas have hinged on these "bonus stones" (which are temporary, remaining in the purse for only a single game session) giving extra Tragedy or Heroism, but there's no reason a Ring-Giver couldn't hand a Skald a stone of a different color and say "this is your dragon stone", and when that stone is drawn, the Skald must somehow work the "dragon" into his narration. What a cool and potentially unique way of telling a story!

I'll run that one by my publisher (wink, wink, nudge,nudge).

Take care,
Scott

Wow.

That sounds really interesting. Interjection of concepts without interference in the narrative. Really cool. I'd be chucking a couple of these in for every character each session. Excellent idea. Glad you shared it.

Gives me other ideas as well. You could have rules for trading runes, especially the special ones, or forcing others to take them or something. Don't want to deal with that dragon Rune? Pass it to your neighbor. Introduces all sorts of other possibilities.

I still contend that the marketing possibilities for this are incredible. Sell them in packs like D&D modules. Like the Dragon Mountain set which includes the Dragon rune, the Climbing rune, the Hoard, the Cavern, Magma, Family (its a family of dragons, you see), Wisdom, Trap, Spear, Legend, Flight, Flame, Scales, Path, Secret, and whatever other Runes make sense. These can be selected at random, possibly replacing the runes discarded, and must be used (discarded, themselves) by the end of the session of play or whatever. If you don't do 'em can I get licensing?

Mike

Ha! No way am I giving up my cash cow! LOL.

Not to cloud my head with visions of grandeur, but I've always thought WYRD should have its own line of custom made Heroic and Tragic runestones. Anyone out there know how to get such things made, if only for my personal use?

Take care,
Scott

Well, I don't know about glass or stone, but wood should be fairly easy. I forget the name, but one of the big East German furniture companies couldn't compete after the reunification and rather than go under, they found other things to do with wood with their simple tooling. One of the solutions was wooden game pieces...cheaply. This is one reason why so many German cames typically come with a selection of wooden pieces.

It probably wouldn't require too much digging to discover appropriate contact info.