Sword of my Father 

 
A hero’s path to immortality is through the songs their children sing of them, and the tales of 
their deeds passed on through generations. Sword of my Father is a game of longships 
longswords and songs of shieldmaidens. 
 
This game works best with 3 - 5 players, and is meant to give players the opportunity to 
loudly proclaim “I am Herkja, daughter of Gilli who laid low the mountains! This is his sword, 
Giantsbane, which you will have the honor of being killed by this day!” 
 
Sword of my Father draws inspiration from Strange Drifters by Aaron Griffin, which in turn 
drew its inspiration from Psi*Run by Meguey Baker. Inspiration from the setting came from 
the Shattered Sea series of novels by Joe Abercrombie. 
 
 
Would-be Heroes 
 
Players start each new adventure with a fresh adventurer, as yet unproven in battle. Begin 
with a name for your adventurer and a description of how they look. Will you be Estrid, a 
stocky young lass with a gap-toothed perpetual grin and a mess of sandy hair atop her head? 
Or perhaps Bolli, a grim lad in fine clothes, whose jaw is always firmly clenched against the 
task at hand?  
 
Next, you’ll need to decide how to determine 
your heirlooms and legends. If you’ve played 
Sword of my Father before your new 
adventurer should be a descendant of your 
previous one. They will be equipped with the 
heirlooms and legends you were able to pass 
down at the end of the last adventure. 
 
If this is your first time playing Sword of my 
Father, roll two six-sided dice (2d6) and use one 
to resolve each of the cards below (heirlooms 
and legends) to determine how successful your 
ancestors have been, and what advantages they 
have passed on to you, the latest of their 
lineage. 
 
 
 
Heirlooms 
These are items left to you by your forebears that you may use to inspire allies or strike fear 
in the heart of your enemies. Heirlooms are most effective when boasted about to those who 
have already heard of their history. For example, if you boast that you carry the stone-shield 
of Helga, defender of Sogn, that may help you inspire citizens of Sogn who grew up listening 
to stories of her heroism. However, if you boast about welding the sword Nettle, bane of the 
Opplanders, it will do little to strike fear in the hearts of anyone who is not from Oppland. 
Therefore, Nettle cannot be used as an advantage against a Sognman. 
Heirlooms come in the following categories: 
● Items of Legend:​ Known throughout the many kingdoms. Items become legendary 
when an item has been named three times. 
● Named Items:​ Known in your own kingdom, and one other based on the feat by 
which it got its name. Any item you’re carrying while performing a heroic deed can 
be named. 
● Unnamed Items:​ Known only to those who knew your ancestor who first carried it, 
and their descendants. 
Be careful when using heirlooms, as their use exposes them to the risk of being broken or 
lost. 
 
Heirlooms 

You have two named items and one nameless item passed down from your forebears. 
⚅  You decide what the items are, and which groups of people have heard the legends of 
the named ones. 

 
⚄⚃  You have one named and one nameless item. You decide what they are, the GM 
decides who knows the legend of the named item. 

You have one unnamed heirloom, you decide what it is. 

⚂⚁ 

For whatever reason, no heirlooms were left to you. You decide why. 
⚀ 
 
 
Legends 
These are the tales told and songs sung of your ancestors performing incredible feats and 
earning titles by which they will be known for many years after death finds them. As you are 
performing feats of your own, you may draw inspiration from their legends if they are 
related to the task at hand. 
 
 Legends 

You know two tales that are sung of incredible feats performed by one or more of 
⚅  your ancestors. You make up the tales as well as the ancestor(s) that performed them. 
Another player makes up the titles they got for their troubles. 

One of your ancestors is known within your kingdom for one great deed. The GM 
⚄⚃⚂  comes up with their title, you make up the tale and the ancestor responsible. 

Either none of your ancestors have done anything great, or tales of their exploits have 
⚁⚀  faded from memory. 
 
Injuries 
Adventurers will not start with injuries, but as they take risks in their quest they may earn 
some. When you make rolls, injuries will reduce your effectiveness by removing some of your 
highest rolls. They’re not all bad though, as the scars they leave can make for some excellent 
stories and titles. 
 
How to Play 
 
This is a game about performing great feats, worthy 
of songs sung for generations to come. While the 
raiding party will agree upon a goal to try to 
complete throughout the adventure, players should 
attempt to earn personal notoriety along the way. 
Remember, with greater risk comes greater rewards. 
 
The players and the GM should discuss what the 
party’s quest is and the GM should set the scene for 
the party to begin playing in. Players describe what 
their adventurers set out to do in order to achieve 
their goal. Actions taken by players that involve little 
to no risk of failure should not require a roll. 
 
As the adventure progresses, challenges will arise that 
will have no easy solution. This is when players get to 
describe the epic feats of strength or wit their adventurers perform to overcome them. 
When a feat is attempted, it is time for the player to make a roll, the GM will place the 
challenge cards before them based on the setup for this task. The player then takes up a 
number of dice as determined below... 
 
1 + number of challenge cards + number of injuries they have 
 
… and rolls them. Remove the highest value dice for each injury die you added, and use the 
remaining die to resolve the challenge cards as you see fit (For best results, place each die on 
the card you want to use it to resolve to make it very clear to everyone what’s happening). 
Once the cards are resolved, and the tale has been told, it’s time to move on with the story 
until the next adventurer attempts some feat worthy of the dice. 
 
Exaggerate 
 
This world has no magic, but the 
tales of its heroes do seem quite 
magical indeed. Yours should as well. 
While there is no rule for this, 
players are encouraged to 
exaggerate the tales of their exploits 
more and more with each telling of 
them. You may have killed one man 
and barely kept your own life in the 
process, but by the time you reach 
home, people should be hearing of 
how you defeated ten men with a 
mug of ale in one hand without 
hardly breaking a sweat. 
 
GM Considerations 
 
For greatest effect, your setting 
should contain many petty 
kingdoms in a constant churn of 
profitable trade routes, violent 
raids, and short-lived alliances. 
Don’t over plan this though. While 
it will definitely help to have a list 
of Viking kingdom names to draw 
from, it’s certainly fun to allow 
players to make up kingdoms as well in character creation. It’s not as easy to claim 
off the cuff that your father was the most hated enemy of Hadelanders when you 
need to check with your GM first what lands are in play. 
 
At the start of play, give the players a few plot hooks to help them decide on a quest, 
then use their character descriptions, heirlooms, and legends, to help you come up 
with situations to challenge them along the way. Try to create a curve of tension like 
you would find in any good story. Start small, but ramp up to greater and greater 
challenges to stretch the limits of their capabilities. Keep in mind, the players make 
their best progress when attempting heroic feats. 
 
Challenge Cards 
 
A player has announced what their adventurer intends to do, and now it is up to the GM to 
decide what’s at stake. Consider the situation, and pick from the following card sets to lay out 
the challenge before them. The sets include the outcome of the ​feat​, the degree of ​harm 
the player is risking, the fate of any ​heirloom​ ​they may use, and the influence the ​legends 
they invoke may have upon them. 
 
Feat 
 
Choose one of the following cards based on the difficulty of the challenge the player faces, 
and place it before her. This card will determine the measure of her success.  
 
An adventurer may receive assistance from another (1 per roll) in order to reduce the 
challenge of a feat. If the assisting player can describe how he helps in a way that the GM 
agrees makes sense, the GM should lower the challenge rating by one. Should this assistance 
lower the difficulty of the feat below “challenging”, there is no longer a need to roll. The 
players simply succeed. 
 
Alternatively, a player may describe actions her adventurer takes to specifically make a task 
more difficult. This is called “Welcoming the challenge.” If her description sounds difficult 
enough to warrant it, the GM should raise the difficulty of the task (unless the task is already 
heroic). 
 
Challenging: 
 
Feat 

You succeed at this challenge, but no songs will be sung of this moment. Tell 
⚅⚄⚃⚂  us of your triumph. 

You fail this challenge, the GM describes what happens. 

⚁⚀ 
 
 
Difficult: 
 
Feat 

You succeed and earn a title for this great deed. You describe what happens, and 
⚅  another player names you. (Write down the title, and a summary of the feat) 

You’re successful, but no one thinks to honor this victory. You describe what 
⚄⚃  happens. 

You fail this challenge, the GM describes what happens 

⚂⚁⚀ 
 
 
Heroic: 
 
Feat 

You are successful. Your deed is so great you earn a title for yourself and a 
⚅  name for a piece of your equipment used in this feat. Describe your epic 
achievement. Other players name you and your item. 

You succeed and earn a title for this great deed. You describe what happens, 
⚄  and another player names you. (Write down the title, and a summary of the 
feat) 

You fail this challenge 

⚃⚂⚁⚀ 
 
 
Harm 
 
Sometimes, though not always, the feat an adventurer attempts could result in an injury or 
even death. If that is not the case for this roll, skip this card. Otherwise, evaluate the danger 
at hand and choose one of the following harm cards. Note, the degree of danger an 
adventure faces should make sense in a narrative more so than a literal sense. Not every fight 
involving the blade should be a deadly challenge, but fights in which the adventurer is 
severely outmatched and his opponents are set on his death should be. 
 
 
 
Trivial: 
 
Harm 

You avoid the danger, tell the story of what threatened you and how you 
⚅⚄⚃⚂  prevented it. 

Take 1 injury, decide where you are hurt. Another player will then tell of 
⚁⚀  what happened. 
 
Serious: 
 
Harm 

You avoid the danger, tell the story of what threatened you and how you 
⚅⚄  prevented it. 

Take 1 injury, decide where you are hurt. Another player will then tell of what 
⚃⚂  hurt you. 

Take 2 injuries, The GM will describe what happens and how you are hurt. 
⚁⚀ 
 
Deadly: 
 
Harm 

You avoid the danger, tell the story of what threatened you and how you 
⚅  prevented it. 

Take 1 injury, decide where you are hurt. Another player will then tell of what 
⚄  hurt you. 

Take 2 injuries, The GM will describe what happens and how you are hurt. 
⚃⚂ 

You are fatally wounded. Tell the tale of how this came to be, the GM will 
⚁⚀  decide how long you have to live. 
 
Heirloom 
 
This card only applies if an adventurer is attempting to use an heirloom to their advantage. 
Remember, heirlooms can only influence people who have heard of them before. Legendary 
heirlooms are known far and wide and can be used in nearly any situation. A named item 
only applies to your people and the people involved when the item earned its name. 
Unnamed items are only useful in situations with people who personally respected the 
ancestor that wielded it. The use of an heirloom always puts the heirloom at risk. Choose one 
of the following risks based on the circumstances. 
 
Broken: 
 
Heirloom 

Your item remains undamaged. 

⚅⚄⚃ 

Your item is damaged. Place an “X” by this item on your sheet. If it already 
⚂⚁  had an “X”, the item is destroyed and gone for good.  

Your item is destroyed. You say how. 

⚀ 
 
Note: “X”s are removed for free between adventures due to assumed weapon maintenance. 
 
Stolen: 
 
Heirloom 

Either nobody is dumb enough to try to take your item, or you’re quick 
⚅⚄⚃⚂  enough to stop them. Another player decides which. 

A thief steals your item, but there is still a chance to recover it. The GM 
⚁  describes the theft and leaves an opening for you to get it back. 

A thief steals your item and gets away. You never see that heirloom again. 
⚀  Tell the table why you can’t get it back. 
 
Note: the theft doesn’t have to happen right away if that doesn’t make sense, but it should happen shortly after the roll that 
caused it. 
 
 
Lost: 
 
Heirloom 

You keep a hold of your item. 

⚅⚄⚃ 

Your item is temporarily out of your reach. The GM says where it is, 
⚂  another player says how it got there. (it will take at least one feat to 
recover it) 

Your item is irretrievably lost. You describe where it went. 

⚁⚀ 
 
 
 
Legend 
 
Sometimes, one of the legends an adventurer grew up singing of his ancestors applies to the 
situation at hand. If a player can convince you that a legend applies, place the following card 
before them. 
 
 
Legend 

Singing your ancestor’s glory brings you comfort as you follow in their 
⚅⚄⚃  footsteps. Tell of their great feat, and relate it to your own. 

While the tune remains fresh in your mind, you find yourself faltering on the 
⚂⚁  words. Place an “X” by this legend, if it had an “X” forget the legend 
entirely. 

You’ve been too caught up in your own glory lately to remember your 
⚀  ancestors. Forget this legend. 
 
“X”s on legends can be removed between adventures as well, as the stories are refreshed in your mind in the halls of your 
ancestors. 

 
 
Ending the Game 
 
There are a few decisions that should be made at the end of 
the game, either to set things up for the next adventure or to 
have a fun epilogue if there won’t be another adventure. As a 
group, consider the following: 
 
● If your adventurer died and had earned no titles, they 
rest in a nameless grave with no tales told of their 
exploits. Your child is given no heirlooms and has no 
tales of their adventuring parent to inspire them. 
Choose one Legend you knew at the start of this 
adventure to be passed on to your child by their more 
responsible parent. 
 
● If your adventurer died with at least one title, they will be buried at home and have 
songs sung of their deeds. The other players pick their favorite of your titles and 
decide how the tale will be told in your homeland. That tale will be passed on to your 
child, along with one heirloom or named item you carried with you at your death. 
 
● If your adventurer lived but earned no titles or names for their items, they return 
home to pass on all that they have to their child. Start the next game with the same 
heirlooms and legends with which you ended this one, plus one unnamed heirloom. 
 
● If your adventurer lived and earned titles and/or names for their items, they return 
home a hero. Choose one title you most like to hear people sing of you, and describe 
the songs that are sung of it, and have the other players choose another (if there are 
more than one). You pass those two stories on as legends to your child, along with the 
legends you know of your ancestors, as well as any heirlooms and named items you 
have. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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