Joseph Conaway (Order #34054185)

PANDORA SEVEN SWORDS OF WAYLAND

CONTENTS
Wayland’s Plight page 001

The Works of a Master Smith page 003

The Seven Swords page 004

Progeny page 005

Roleplaying page 007

Cascade Studios page 008

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WAYLAND’S PLIGHT

Wayland, sometimes known as Weyland, Volundr, Volund or Vulcan, was the third-born son of the
sea giant Wate and the sea nymph Wac-hilt, classifying him as one of the Old Gods. Showing an early
capacity for learning he became bound as apprentice to Mimi the Smith and soon became a skilled
metalworker. Throughout this period he would often spend time with his two brothers when away
from the smithy, swimming in the river close by. It was here that they happened upon three swans
take human form, sunning themselves on the bank. Captivated by their beauty but saddened that they
would re-don their Swan cloaks and return to animal form, flying away. The brothers watched them
day after day until Wayland formed a plan and they waited for the princesses to fall asleep before hid-
ing their cloaks, keeping them in human form and taking them as brides.

When one day the swan-princesses vanished, the brothers set out to look for them, but Wayland him-
self had too much work to do for Mimi and remained behind. In their absence he was captured by the
evil King Nidung of Sweden, who had heard of Wayland’s potency as a smith and wanted his services
exclusively.

To prevent Wayland from escaping, Nidung ordered his men to cut the sinews of Wayland’s leg, and
so trapped the king had him fashion wonderful items for him and his family. Here Wayland suffered
in the smithy for years, producing an endless array of jewellery and intricate items for Nidung and
his family. Among them, seventeen silver rings which Wayland marked with drops of his own blood.
Wayland’s younger brother Egil, having learned of his plight, attempted to rescue him but was caught
in the attempt. Only his impressive skills with a bow stayed Nidung’s hand from killing him, and in-
stead he was bound into the king’s service as a master archer. Though both were now under the thrall
of Nidung, Egil was permitted to see his Wayland, and secretly wrote a letter to their elder brother
warning him not to attempt a rescue for fear that they would all be enslaved.

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Eventually, with Egil’s help, Wayland began to take his revenge. First by luring the king’s two sons to
his smithy where he killed them and turned their skulls into drinking goblets, presenting them to the
king as a gift. He then fashioned their eyes into beautiful jewels which were gifted to the queen. Final-
ly Wayland lured the king’s daughter to his smithy, where he seduced her and while she lay sleeping,
flew away using swan-feather wings he had made in the likeness of his lost love’s swan cloak using
feathers brought to him by Egil.

Wayland flew to the King Nidung’s hall and using the latent magic in the blood-rings the king wore,
extracted a promise that Nidung would never hunt or hurt Wayland’s children. Then Wayland re-
vealed the truth of the goblets and jewels, and informed him of the seduction of his daughter. During
Wayland’s escape, King Nidung commanded Egil to shoot his brother down. Egil took two arrows
from his quiver, the straightest and sharpest that he could find. With the first arrow, he pierced a sack
of blood which Wayland had concealed on his person, and Nidung believed the smith had died. But
when asked by the king why he took two arrows, the archer replied “to shoot thee, tyrant, with the
second if the first one harmed my brother.”

King Nidung could not in turn harm her or Wayland’s son, now his heir, because of the promise he
had been forced to make. He did however strip the seventeen blood-rings from his family and cast
them into the ocean for fear that Egil would find a way to turn them against him and that he may
never be forced to see them again.

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THE WORKS OF A MASTER SMITH

Believed to be dead, Wayland travelled from Sweden to the

land known as Albion, later ‘England’ and settled in what
would become Oxfordshire. Here he opened a Smithy close
to the Ridgeway, an ancient road running along the
Berkshire Downs and continued to make a name for himself
as a master of his craft. A harder man than he had been in
his youth, though immortal he coveted the years stolen from
him by the evil King, he placed his focus on arms and
armour. This in turn quickly drew attention for his fine
works, tempered with magic. These works include, but
were certainly not limited to the swords below:

Caliburn, sometimes called ‘Excalibur’, which was the

sword of Macsen, Merlin and Arthur and has come to be a
symbol of Great Britain’s sovereignty.

Mimung, which was forged in order to do battle with

rival smith Amilias and was the only blade to be wielded in
combat by Wayland himself before it was gifted to Landri,
nephew of Charles the Great (Charlemagne) upon his death.

A trip of three swords named Kurt, Almace and Durendal

were presented to Charlemagne who tested the swords by
seeing how far they would cut into a steel mound. Of these
he game Kurt to Ogier the Dane, Almance to Bishop Turpin
and kept Durendal for himself, though he was later told in a
dream to give the blade to Count Roland.

Gram, the sword of Sigmund, which would be destroyed by

the Norse God, Odin and was later reforged by Regin that
his son might slay the dragon Fafnir.

A Nameless blade for Brother Hugh, a Saxon novice monk

who later became a knight. This magical sword would
become a symbol of the temporal power through which the
land of England was taken and forged into unity. Though
some believe it to be Caliburn, a strong argument can be
made that this is in fact the Vorpal Sword.

Though having put his name to some of history’s greatest

blades, Wayland felt the tug of the Old Gods, telling him
that his time was done and to move into recession from the
world. Fearing for his bloodline, which had come many
generations from Nidung’s daughter and spread throughout
the world, he set about the creation of a final master project
before vanishing into history.

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THE SEVEN SWORDS

“Morax, Solas, Orias, Albion, Elidor, Beleth, Flauros. On each of them, words of high magic
unspoken since they were made. Wayland knew the danger. Oh yes, he knew. That’s why he
scattered them and for hundreds of years they remained apart. Two of them were buried. Others lost
in battle and some so cunningly hidden that none had knowledge of them. The search took many
years, many lives.” - the Archangel Michael

Wayland’s final master work was in the creation of seven two-handed broadswords, each forged with
the true-name of a different spirit, which was then bound into the blade. Though the Lesser Key of
Soloman, a grimoire on demonology records these spirits among the seventy two demons it lists, it
is commonly believed that they are elemental beings used by Soloman in the forging of each sword.
This gives the blades the added effect of possessing a unique magic each. In order are:

Orias – Inflicts the Sin of Lust onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the Virtue of
Chastity if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Morax – Inflicts the Sin of Gluttony onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the Virtue of
Abstinence if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Elidor (or Eligor) – Inflicts the Sin of Avarice onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the
Virtue of Liberality if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Beleth – Inflicts the Sin of Sloth onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the Virtue of
Diligence if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Flauros (or Flowras) – Inflicts the Sin of Wrath onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with
the Virtue of Patience if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Solas – Inflicts the Sin of Envy onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the Virtue of
Kindness if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

Albion – Inflicts the Sin of Pride onto anyone it successfully hits. Blesses the user with the Virtue of
Humility if a 10 is rolled. These effects last only the duration of the battle.

These swords were forged over the course of a year and when completed Wayland sat them together
for a day that he might view his work. The weapons complete, Wayland knew that their power was
too great to leave them in mortal hands, and so gave the swords to the Archangel Michael, who
carried them from this world. In exchange, Michael returned to Wayland the seventeen silver
blood-rings that he had fashioned and promised that should one of his descendants need to call on
the power of the swords, it would be made available to them.

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PROGENY

Over the course of history the Wayland bloodline has travelled and spread across the breadth of the
world. After centuries of in-breeding with mortals any trace of his Old God blood has long since
vanished, however ten families exist that can follow an established family tree back to him and who
strengthen their claim through marriage between each other. Known collectively as ‘Progeny’, each
of these ten families possesses one of more of the Blood-Rings, traditionally worn by the heir to each
household. Progeny are capable of using these rings to call upon the power of the seven swords
forged by Wayland, which appear to them as spectral blades that can be safely wielded without fear
that their power could fall into the wrong hands. Some of these families actively seek to collect the
rest of the rings for themselves whilst others keep largely to themselves. By special agreement, those
members in possession of a blood-ring can be called upon by the Ministry of Defence in return for
certain privileges not unlike diplomatic immunity.
Progeny are however completely mortal and the loss of their Blood-Ring renders them incapable of
combat. They hold themselves to an extremely high standard akin to the nobility of old, with whole
families linked into promises and the debt of one standing for the debt of all.
Close Combat Weapon Progeny wield the Seven Swords of Wayland which appear as
broadswords made of light. At the start of each mission a Progeny can call
upon one of the seven blades represented on their skill tree (starting with
Albion and unlocking additional blades through experience). Each of
these weapons possesses the ability to inflict a different Sin when an
enemy is successfully struck. They also possess the ability to bless the
wielder if a 10 is rolled with a Virtue, but this effect only activates for the
sword chosen at the mission’s start.
More than one sword can be summoned in a single mission, however
these act as floating NPC allies in battle, able to be ordered to attack or
defend by the will of the Progeny. At the conclusion of the battle in which
they were summoned, any blades not the main weapon of the character
in question vanish.
Ranged Weapon Progeny are unable to attack at range.
Armour Rating Low (3+)
Racial Type Progeny count as mortals and as such are Humanity.

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ROLEPLAYING

When players take on the role of a Progeny they are agreeing to bind themselves to both the will of
the Ministry of Defence (a common quest-giving association and the face of the British Government in
Pandora) and their immediate family, who will be using one of the many names Wayland (Weyland,
Volundr, Volund, Vulcan, etc) was known under. These family ties serve as the player’s home and
bearing a Blood-Ring means that he/she will be expected to one day run that family. This brings with
it the weight of responsibility as the public face of your family, as well as making any promises you or
another member of your family has made binding for everyone. These promises can be passed down
through generations and may be a plot point that a Storyteller uses later.

As a player you are very much always working for two masters, those setting missions at the Ministry
and those giving you tasks from within the Family. This is usually the current head of the household
or an older member. These tasks will sometimes directly conflict with the ongoing investigation or
the goals of other party members and players will be expected to make hard choices and live with the
consequences of any actions they take.

Wayland Families are affluent and independantly wealthy in their own right, usually through a form of
modern production, such as owning a jewellery business and mines, or providing weapon design and
manufacture to military contracts. Few supernaturals enjoy the kind of perks a ring-wielding Progeny
does within the world of man, but in order to live in the society they crave they are forced to give
themselves over to public service when called upon. A delicate balance exists where the government
asks for ‘help’ or ‘services’ politely, and the Wayland Clans are yet to decline.

Even among other Humanity types, Progeny are seen as playboys, only getting their hands dirty when
no other option is available. Organisations such as the Templar and Magi suffer their presence
grudgingly and take measures to ensure that corporate secrets are well hidden from their presence,
whilst street-level gangs such as Elementals flat-out dislike them for their well-spoken privilage.
Progeny in turn see other Humanity races as inferior and socialise primarilly within their own family.

Progeny from seperate families on the same group will become highly competative up to - but not
quite initiating - violent actions. Both respect the power of the other’s family but all Progeny assume
as a matter of pride that their house if the largest, most affluent or powerful and seek to rub this in the
face of the other to assert superiority. It is very rare that the Ministry will place two Progeny on the
same team from differing households. Those from the same household are considered equals, though
may be in competition from home to prove which of the two should rise to inherit the family title.

Once a year, all of the heirs to households from the Wayland bloodline will be expected to visit the
burial mound on the Berkshire Downs known as ‘Wayland’s Smithy’. Here they spend the night under
the stars and decisions are made as to which houses will inter-marry. It is not uncommon for Progeny
to already be married to others of their kind from another of the major families. Due to their size this
does not count as in-breeding as their common ancestry is separated by thousands of generations.

Storytelling a Progeny allows for a powerful NPC who is capable of generating his own party to
support him/her in combat to a limited degree. NPC Progeny are more likely to call upon multiple
swords in the one fight due to their not having to think long-term about a mission and this can make
them very dangerous opponents to a party.

Should the Progeny fall all swords will immediatly vanish from a battle, however attacking individual
swords is a pointless activity as they do not possess Health of their own. Swords always act last in the
turn order of a battle, and possess a Physical Trait equal to that of the caster.

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CASCADE STUDIOS

Cascade Studios produces a whole range of FREE products, from RPGs to Audio Dramas. Be sure to
check out more from the Pandora range (essential for the use of this campaign suppliment).

Pandora the Seven Swords of Wayland is Copyright © Cascade Studios 2016.

For more information on the Cascade Role Playing System (CRPS), including Pandora products and
the Golden Age roleplaying game be sure to visit us at: www.cascadestudios.co.uk

If you have feedback, questios or just want to express an opinion, be sure to get in contact with
Cascade Studios via email at bwarren@cascadestudios.co.uk our Creative Director is always happy to
answer mail in person.

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