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This section begins the action in the middle of things. It
acts as a tutorial to help you learn the basics of gameplay
as the story progresses. If you already know the rules,
you may skip ahead to the character creation step and
begin the story as normal.
After the story section there is a more detailed rules
explanation that provides a framework for creating
quests and encounters of your own. Using these rules
you can go on adventures beyond the narrative of this
story. Best of all, when you’re done with your adventure
you have an outline that you can write out for your
friends to play as their own solo adventure!
Dice
This game uses sixsided dice exclusively. This is
because they’re very easy to acquire. The 2d6 mechanics
create a nice bell curve for when you’re rolling random
encounters and such. Even small bonuses and penalties
have weight, meaning that nothing feels insignificant.
To play this game you need:
2d6 of one color and 1d6 of a different color. By default
the system uses 2 black dice and 1 white die
A pencil
A sheet with your character information on it
I001 A Dark and Stormy Night
A loud pounding sound wrests you from your slumber
forcefully. You bolt upright, trying to clear your mind
quickly. The pounding sound came from a knocking at
your cabin door. It’s nearly pitch black in the small
room, with scant illumination coming solely from the
sliver of moonlight that pours in through the window
above your bed.
“Sir,” comes the voice from the other end of the door,
“We’re in a bad spot. The ship’s hit rocks and there are
wreckers coming aboard.”
The voice belongs to Erik, the youngest sailor on Njord’s
Fortune, a trading cog. The young boy’s been your best
companion on this voyage. The note of fear in his voice
moves you to action. After your curse yourself for not
waking up when the ship went aground you quickly
gather yourself for combat.
Just to the right of your pillow is your most important
possession, the Helm of the Swan. It’s one of several
types of armor pieces used by your order, the Yeorseggr.
As a member of the Swan’s Path you’re sworn to never
reveal your face to an outsider. Made from sacred
Halstel alloy, it’s nearly indestructible. You immediately
don it and open your travel pack to retrieve your
weapons.
What do you carry? Choose from the options on the next
page.
If you wield a spear, go to Section I010
If you wield a short sword or a single hand axe, go to
Section I006
If you wield a pair of short swords or a pair of hand axes,
go to Section I018
If you wield a shield and either a spear, short sword, or a
hand axe, go to Section I008
If you wield a great axe or a warhammer, go to Section
I012
If you wield a longsword, go to Section I011
After this ranged round you proceed to melee combat,
see I004. If you happen to kill the archer in this round,
you instead see Section I014.
If you take damage and want to reduce it, at any time
you may reference Section I015
Wrecker Archer
Level 1
HP 2
Ranged
Note that the Archer has the same HP total as he did in
previous rounds. Now you get to apply your weapon
talents to the combat rolls, as you’re in melee distance
If you take damage and want to reduce it, at any time
you may reference Section I015
Once you beat the wrecker archer, see Section I014
I005 The Wrecker Chief
You’ve finally made it to the chief of the wrecker gang.
His face is obscured by a mask, but what you can see
isn’t pretty. It’s the sort of ugliness that comes from
making one’s way through life on the suffering and
misery of innocents.
He grins at you with a malicious smile and prepares for
your attack. As you’re about to set at him an
exceptionally strong wave hits the side of the ship,
breaking it loose from the rocks and sending you
scrambling. A flying piece of lumber hits you in the side
of the head. The last thing you see before blacking out is
the wrecker and his henchmen getting swept off the
deck. Your only consolation is the hope that they find a
justice at the bottom of the sea.
See I007
OneHanded Weapon Specialty: When you use a
single onehanded weapon you can reroll one die in your
Ambush or the first Melee round of each fight. If you
take this at the beginning of the game you begin with a
single onehanded weapon.
Go to Section I013
I007 End of Prologue
You’ve just completed the tutorial for this book. In the
future you can skip this section and go straight to 001.
You now know the basic rules of playing in this system
and have the knowledge that you need to make your way
through the dangerous world.
Shield Weapon Specialty: You can count a shield as
a weapon for the DualWield Weapon Specialty and
OneHanded Weapon Specialty Talents. Using a shield
and a onehanded weapon together does not disqualify
you from using the OneHanded Weapon Specialty. If
you take this at the beginning of the game you start with
a shield.
Go to Section I013
I009 The First Strike
Hastened by Erik’s pleas, you make your way out of your
room. As you exit you’re hit by the stench of battle:
sweat, viscera and the salt spray of the ocean.From your
side you hear a pitiful grunt and a whimper. Whirling
around you see young Erik sink to his knees and then
pitch forward. An arrow protrudes from his back.
Your people are renowned for their eyesight, and even in
the dark you can make out the form of the archer who
shot Erik. You’re not going to let this stand. A fine young
boy just died for no good reason.
The next few paragraphs explain combat a bit at length.
Not every combat encounter has the option for
ambush/first strike or ranged attacks. This encounter
explains the basics.
Advantage
You might have noticed that some of the talents provide
Advantage on rolls. This is when the third die comes into
play. When you have Advantage you roll 3d6, and if any
of those three show a 5 or 6 you are successful.In this
instance, if you took the Stealthy Talent you’re going to
roll 3 dice instead of just 2.
If you choose to test for ambush, take 2d6, one black and
one white. That’s the standard dice roll for this game.
Roll them now. If EITHER of them shows a 5 or a 6, you
succeed and get a free ranged attack. If NEITHER of
them shows 5 or 6, then you fail and tip off the wreckers’
archer to your presence.
If you succeed in the ambush go to Section I017
If you fail the ambush, go to Section I016
If you choose not to ambush, go to Section I003
OneHanded Weapon Specialty: When you use a
single onehanded weapon you can reroll one die in your
Ambush or the first Melee round of each fight. If you
take this at the beginning of the game you begin with a
single onehanded weapon.
TwoHanded Weapon Specialty: When you use a
twohanded weapon you can roll with Disadvantage to
add +1 to the white die. If you take this at the beginning
of the game you gain a single twohanded weapon.
Go to Section I013
I011 Path of the Swordsman
Using a longsword you can keep enemies at bay while
also pressing the attack. Take note of the sword on your
character sheet, and write down the following Talent:
Twohanded Weapon Specialty: When you use a
twohanded weapon you can roll with Disadvantage to
add +1 to the white die. If you take this at the beginning
of the game you gain a single twohanded weapon.
Go to Section I013
Heavy Weapon Speciality: When you use a heavy
weapon you do damage equal to the number of dice that
roll successes. If you take this ability at the start of the
game you gain a heavy melee weapon.
Go to Section I013
I013. Stepping Out
Now that you have your main weapon you pick up your
bow and quiver. You’re ready for a fight. If you have only
one Talent marked, you can now choose any one of the
talents below:
Alert: You roll any trap or ambush saves with
Advantage.
Armorsmith: You may replenish one piece of armor
per dungeon without having to roll for an encounter.
Berserk: Go into a berserk state at will during combat,
which lasts for 1d6 rounds and cannot end early. In this
state you add +1 to the black die but subtract 2 from the
white die.
Charming: You roll any persuasion or lying rolls with
Advantage.
Hunter: You roll any survival or tracking checks with
Advantage.
Stealthy: You roll checks to hide, sneak or ambush with
Advantage.
If you’re not sure at this point, you can wait until you’re
done with the prologue to choose. Now, gather three six
sided dice, which we call d6. You need two that are one
color and a third of a second color. In this book the two
dice are referred to as black and the single die as white.
Black is beneficial while white is not.
It’s time to step out onto the deck of the cog.
Go to Section I009
I014 Allies in the Fight
“Yeorseggr,” through the thunder, rain and clashing
metal you can hear one of the sailors call for you, “over
here!”
Pushing your way through the crowd you toss a couple
wreckers from the deck of the cog before you reach the
sailor.
“We’ll fight back to back, comrade,” he pledges. With a
nod you agree and the two of you link up, each
protecting the other from danger.
“Oh, and you best take this,” the sailor hands you a small
vial. It’s filled with a green liquid that sparkles when you
shake it. This is a d3 Healing Potion.
You may take this and any other healing potions
between fights and encounters. When you do, roll a d3,
which you can simulate by counting 12 as 1, 34 as 2,
and 56 as 3. Then heal that many HP for yourself. In a
section that contains multiple combats, one after
another, you can take the potion between enemies but
not in the middle of a fight. Health potions list how
much HP they heal when used. Each potion is a single
use item.
This sailor is your ally for the fight. You may choose to
have him take damage for you on an attack, though you
can’t do that for two attacks in a row. If the white die
shows an odd result and you take damage, either from
an enemy’s ability or from failing the combat test, then
you and your ally both take half the damage done, to a
minimum of 1 each. If your ally’s HP ever drops to 0,
they’re dead and gone.
If the black and white dice ever both show the same
result, “doubles,” then your ally’s ability activates.
Cog Sailor
HP 3
Ability: The sailor steps in and clubs your enemy for an
additional 1 damage.
The two of you now face the gauntlet together. At the far
end of the cog you can make out what appears to be the
leader of the wreckers, barking orders to his minions.
There are three wrecker thugs standing between you and
him. You and your sailor ally need to fight through each
of them, one at a time, to reach the wrecker chief. Use
the stats below for each of the thugs.
Wrecker Thug
Level 2
HP 4
Trigger 12: The wrecker trips you. You have
Disadvantage on your next combat test.
Disadvantage
When you have Disadvantage you still roll 2d6. The
difference between this and a regular roll is that you only
count the black die for success. The white die only
counts for triggering enemy abilities on a Disadvantaged
roll.
If you fight your way to the chief of the wreckers, see
Section I005
I015 Armor
If you take damage in combat and want to make the hit
hurt less, you can mark a piece of unmarked armor.
Simply pencil a check mark next to the piece of armor
that you want to use and reduce the incoming damage by
up to 2 points. You can mark multiple pieces of armor to
reduce a single hit further. You cannot mark armor more
than once.
If you have time to fix your armor in town you can then
unmark all pieces. Attempting to fix armor in the field or
in a dungeon means that you have to roll for an
encounter. Go back to the last section you read.
I016 Ambush Failure
The archer catches your preparation and lets an arrow
fly before you even have yours out of the quiver.
Test to dodge by rolling 2d6.
If you succeed the attack misses you, see Section I003
If you fail you take 1 damage. See Section I003
If you take damage and want to reduce it, at any time
you may reference Section I015
DualWield Weapon Specialty: When you use two
onehanded weapons at once you attack with Advantage.
You cannot dualwield spears, even though they can be
used onehanded. If you take this ability at the start of
the game you gain two onehanded weapons.
Go to Section I013