Is this the Right Section For a Roleplaying/Board Game?

[Caracol]

I'm making a board/roleplaying game based on Norse Mythology. It gots a board based on viking cosmology (almost completed, about 170 squares), classes, items, races and monsters (all in card form, I just made the concepts for them right now, they are going to be about 120+). I would like to have suggestions and comments, but before to post the whole thing, I would like to know if this is the right section. If it isn't, please move this thread to the right one. If there isn't a right section for this in GITP forums, just delete the thread. Thanks in advance.

[Alfryd]

Sounds interesting. I'd guess this forum is more or less the right place, do spill the details.

[Caracol]

Ok, first, the board. I took this picture (http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1522/ygdrasilqs2.gif) as a reference, and I remade it.


image in lower dimension/quality of the actual one

http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/5310/ragnarokzl0.png

It's almost completed, I just need to add the wolf Fenrir in the lower part and the flames that represent Muspell.

So, what do you think? I will post the game mechanics later.

[Caracol]

The board explained:
It's a representation of the traditional viking cosmology. The different colors represents the different worlds:
grey - yggdrasil, the world tree
yellow - asgard, the god's realm
red - bifrost, the fire bridge
green - midgard, the human's world
light brown - jotunheim, the giant's world
blue - the sea
brown - jormungand, the world serpent
purple - niflheim, the realm of deads.

The sky, muspell and fenrir(unshowed in the image) are to be considered special locations, counting as single squares.
The players can move using a d6. You can move in every direction and you have to move by the number you rolled. You can also stay where you are, skipping the turn. You move along the squares, although with a fly spell or item you can reach every position, even muspell and fenrir. Moving towards the other world is one of the game main features, as your objective is to travel to different location (I will talk about the different objectives later).

The monsters and the buildings in black and white are particular locations:
monsters:
the eagle - the eagle on the top of yggdrasil, with a crow between its eyes
the deers - the deers that eat yggdrasil's leafs
the squirrel - ratatosk, the squirrel that carries news
jormugand's head
serpent - niddogg, the dragon that bites yggdrasil's root
fenrir - the wolf that will eat the world at Ragnarok

buildings:
Vanheim - home of Vanir gods
The wall and the fortress of Asgard - home of Aesir gods
Alfheim - realm of light elves
Valhalla - where the dead warriors go
Wells - the three wells of Fate
Nidavellir - realm of dwarves
Svartalfheim - realm of dark elves
montains of Jotunheim
Utgard - citadel of giants
Hole in the ground - the hole in which Fenrir is
Gates and citadel of Hel - the fortress of undeads

These locations corresponds to particular events to happen to the players.

The regular squares are blank by now, but they will marked with runes corresponding at these events:
Blank - nothing happens, you can rest and heal your wounds
Combat - you fight a random monster
Peril - something bad happens to you
Treasure - you get a random treasure

When you land on one of these squares you draw a card from the corresponding deck.

I will post more about the mechanics later.

[Alfryd]

Sounds intriguing enough, if not enormously radical. (I seem to recall Bifrost was a rainbow, rather than a flaming causeway? Eh. ...your mileage may vary.) The board layout is certainly very interesting. I may take a bash at dandifying it some time, if you don't mind.

How would the animal locations work, exactly? I'd be tempted to put them as random encounters.
Why are there all these extra squares in the branches of Yggdrassil? Do they lead somewhere?
And of course, what's the final object of the game?

[Caracol]

Sounds intriguing enough, if not enormously radical. (I seem to recall Bifrost was a rainbow, rather than a flaming causeway? Eh. ...your mileage may vary.) The board layout is certainly very interesting. I may take a bash at dandifying it some time, if you don't mind.

Thanks. Bifrost was a rainbow, sure, but in many myths and representation is considered a raimbow made of fire, since at that time they weren't sure what really a rainbow was.



How would the animal locations work, exactly? I'd be tempted to put them as random encounters.


The animals locations are special places in where you can act as a normal encounter, choosing between these actions:
- fight (remeber that they are stronger that normal monsters and don't die when defeated)
- flee (the best thing to do when you're weak)
- charm (you convince the monster to let you pass)
(I will explain better how encounter works later)
In addition, these location have special effects or condition to be crossed (example: to pass through niddhogg you have to carry a dead body to let him feed and let you pass, the eagle gives you a magical item if you perform a task, and so on... I would like to have some suggestions about these special conditions.)
I don't think that these monster should be random encounter, but don't worry, you'll have plenty of them.



Why are there all these extra squares in the branches of Yggdrassil? Do they lead somewhere?


They will be marked as special, they give you items (magical or not). The roots leads to the Wells (that give runes and songs, will explain later), and of course are needed to travel between the world.



And of course, what's the final object of the game?

When you start the game, you draw a card for you race, another for your class, and another card with your deity (I will post them later). This last card, other than giving you powers if you have the Priest class, is also the card that gives you objective. As Risk, your objective varies but could be kept secret or not, your choice: the fact that everyone as different objectives and you can draw another deity in your following games give more re-play value.
All deity have different objectives, but they are basically going in some places, collecting particular items and then slaying Fenrir (which is REALLY HARD TO DO), except if you deity is Loki, in that case you have to free him from his prison and unleash destruction all over the world.

I will add the races, classes and deity in the following posts, and of course I would like to hear your comments and suggestions.

[boomwolf]

Wow.

You sure put some hard work into that one.

My work will take ages to reach that level. (some weird hybrid of MTG and OOTS boardgame. very complex.)

Well, lets look at it.

For starters-the board is rather small and complex. might want to make it larger (I mean more squares, not the natural fact the board will be bigger.) and remove some unnecessary parts (giant realm is REALLY needed?)

After that, you might want to consider the "talisman" system, and put all "events" of the empty spaces in the same pile, so an "empty" tile could be a treasure or monster without you knowing, adding some interest, and removing the "perfectly safe travel" problem that might rise.

Your system of getting a character is also radically random, and might lead to many unwanted events, you should try to narrow it to one of the following:

1-character card with all needed things. (goal, deity, race+class.)
2-character card (race, class and deity)+goal card.
3-choice system with random goals. (pick character from several combinations first, then get your mission.)

This will allow more control over the game, and while it will remove some of the "highly repeatable" factor, it will remove the might-be problem of highly unwanted combinations that player will simply have no fun with.

[Caracol]

Wow.

You sure put some hard work into that one.

My work will take ages to reach that level. (some weird hybrid of MTG and OOTS boardgame. very complex.)


Thanks, but it wasn't so hard to do with the reference image in the background when you draw :smallwink:



For starters-the board is rather small and complex. might want to make it larger (I mean more squares, not the natural fact the board will be bigger.) and remove some unnecessary parts (giant realm is REALLY needed?)


The board is not so small after all, it's about 160+ squares. Also, since you have to travel to reach almost every realm, it would took ages to move towards distant places, so I think that the squares are enough.
Giant Realm is really necessary? Hell Yeah. Most of norse myths included a travel to Jotunheim, described as a land of ice and perils. Also, in the myths passing through it was the only way to reach the Mimir (one of the Wells), spring of knowledge and wisdom. In the game, many of the monsters are giants and there's even an half-giant race to play.



After that, you might want to consider the "talisman" system, and put all "events" of the empty spaces in the same pile, so an "empty" tile could be a treasure or monster without you knowing, adding some interest, and removing the "perfectly safe travel" problem that might rise.

Are you talking about making a roll to decide if the square contains a menace or not, or making a whole bunch of empty event cards (nothing happens) you can draw at random? While I don't like the latter (too many cards to represent nothing, and don't forget that I will probably stamp them by MYSELF) the former could be good, and in the beginning I was oriented for this solution.
But remember that:
- you roll at random, so you don't really know where you will land, and you choose the direction of your movement BEFORE the roll.
- while you will probably try to avoid Peril squares (all negative effects), you will go for monster ones, since killing monsters gives you items, makes you reach some goals and gives you experience (yes, you level up to 3rd level, killing or defeating monsters with other means, so you will probably try to kill everytime you can)
- healing items and spells are rare, and the only other way is resting in blank spaces. So, many of them are needed (although some really dangerous realms, like Niflheim, do not have blank squares in which you can rest). You can travel from place to place just going in blank spaces, but it's unlikely you will be able or you will want to do it, for the reason stated above.



Your system of getting a character is also radically random, and might lead to many unwanted events, you should try to narrow it to one of the following:

1-character card with all needed things. (goal, deity, race+class.)
2-character card (race, class and deity)+goal card.
3-choice system with random goals. (pick character from several combinations first, then get your mission.)

This will allow more control over the game, and while it will remove some of the "highly repeatable" factor, it will remove the might-be problem of highly unwanted combinations that player will simply have no fun with.

Mmmm.... this system would let you use only pre-made characters, while it's more fun if you have a random character that can change at every new game. Also, while your class influences your role more, the race cards gives just some minor bonuses and different starting positions. Unwanted or strange combinations are possible, but in this game classes are not so different. And remember that is always possible, if you want, to decide with the other players to choose the race and role you prefer, with "unrevealed cards", if the others can do it too of course.
Anyway, maybe is better to delay this issue after I'll post the classes.

[Alfryd]

The board is not so small after all, it's about 160+ squares. Also, since you have to travel to reach almost every realm, it would took ages to move towards distant places, so I think that the squares are enough.
Yes- I'm confused about the placement of certain squares, since you seem to have parallel tracks of them on top of the ocean and ol' Jormungand. How does movement work there, exactly?

Also, have you considered a different layout for aesthetics' sake? It may be a little off the wall, but I thought that something more geometric might have it's fine points.
http://home.graffiti.net/alfryd:graffiti.net/ArtImages/nworlds.gif
(Green/blue/dark green are midgard/ocean/jormungand, red/black/blue are muspell/ginnungagap/nilfheim, and light green is asgard/vanaheim/alfheim. Then you have a space in the middle for yggdrassil and it's branches, or other play-related widgets.)

Speaking of which, what cards do you plan to print? I can probably help out with the artwork, if you have specific directions in mind.

Anyway, maybe is better to delay this issue after I'll post the classes.
Perhaps you might consider a bidding system for particular abilities or class features, rather than a purely random allotment? I'm averse to randomisation, but then again if you want to be able to just 'jump into the game', you don't want players agonising over race/class combos for ages before play.

[Caracol]

Yes- I'm confused about the placement of certain squares, since you seem to have parallel tracks of them on top of the ocean and ol' Jormungand. How does movement work there, exactly?

Movement works in this way: declare the direction in where you want to move, roll a d6, move, land on something. You can go through all squares that are adjacents: you can travel from the land to the sea and then directly on jormungand, unless you have rolled enough. In the upper part, where the sea and jormugand "disappear" under Asgard, you consider adjacent the two squares, even if they are distant.
I might consider to let you travel on jormungand only when you land on certain squares: what do you think about that?


Also, have you considered a different layout for aesthetics' sake? It may be a little off the wall, but I thought that something more geometric might have it's fine points.
http://home.graffiti.net/alfryd:graffiti.net/ArtImages/nworlds.gif
(Green/blue/dark green are midgard/ocean/jormungand, red/black/blue are muspell/ginnungagap/nilfheim, and light green is asgard/vanaheim/alfheim. Then you have a space in the middle for yggdrassil and it's branches, or other play-related widgets.)

Your representation is good and less confusing, but I believe mine is a bit more "artistic" and respects more the idea of differen worlds around yggdrasil. So, I think I would still stick with mine (after all it took me hours to be made)


Speaking of which, what cards do you plan to print? I can probably help out with the artwork, if you have specific directions in mind.

I was going to make a quick playtest as soon as possible, without the cards (monsters/events/items rolled from a chart), and then consider the idea of stamping all the card needed. About the artwork: thanks, I was gonna ask you help about founding it. I don't really have the time or the skill needed to draw it by miself, and since I don't program to publish this game for now, "stolen" artwork from around the internet would be fine.


Perhaps you might consider a bidding system for particular abilities or class features, rather than a purely random allotment? I'm averse to randomisation, but then again if you want to be able to just 'jump into the game', you don't want players agonising over race/class combos for ages before play.

Once again, fixed class-race combos can lower the replay value, and this game is exactly the kind of game in where you jump into quickly.
And , after all, as I said before, you can go random, or you can decide with the other player to choose everybody the card wanted, without drawing it: whatever, is really the same. You want to be surprised by your and the other role? Go random. You want to play the role you are good at? Don't go random, you choice, this game allows you to do both.

And now, for STATS!!!
Your character have different stats. Race, class, items, spells, levels and so on can influence these stats. They are:

Attack Your combat ability.
Defense Your ability of avoiding attacks.
Life How much damage you can take and your resistance against charme.
Charme Your abity to influence an opponent.
Movement Modifications to the movement rolls.

As you can say, simple stuff after all.
Also, classes and race can give you special abilities.
Any suggestions about these? I'll post the races soon.

[Alfryd]

Your representation is good and less confusing, but I believe mine is a bit more "artistic" and respects more the idea of differen worlds around yggdrasil. So, I think I would still stick with mine (after all it took me hours to be made)
Oh, this is just a rough sketch, I haven't detailed any of the frills and curlicues yet. Let me do you a slightly more ornate version before you pass sentence.
I presume you'd want to preserve more-or-less the exact structure of your existing board in terms of junctions and location size? Maybe a mickey mouse arrangement for the 3 worlds, with Yggdrassil between the 'ears'?
What did you intend to do with muspell (and/or ginnungagap)?

On a tangential note, I think it might be interesting if death permitted the player to travel to either Nilfheim, Asgard or Vanaheim, depending on their cause of death and patron god or goddess. Also, might we have one or two other 'evil' deities- Hel herself, or Surt?

I presume the difficulty for the evil players is that, although they don't need to kill fenrir, the other players will be actively seeking to kill or obstruct these players, once they figure out what they're up to?

Movement works in this way: declare the direction in where you want to move, roll a d6, move, land on something. You can go through all squares that are adjacents: you can travel from the land to the sea and then directly on jormungand, unless you have rolled enough.
In that case, are you sure you need to lay down specific tracks for the players to move along? You might be able to use a grid or polar coordinate system to allow greater diversity of movement. Mountains or ocean could count as 2/3 squares, or simply force you to end your movement that turn.

In the upper part, where the sea and jormugand "disappear" under Asgard, you consider adjacent the two squares, even if they are distant. ...I might consider to let you travel on jormungand only when you land on certain squares: what do you think about that?
In that' case, I really reccommend revising the artwork to give a clear view of the ocean and Jormungand. I'd have to know more about what those 'certain squares' might be (the head, perhaps?)

Just as a suggestion- it might be interesting to put Utgard across the ocean on a small island. I vaguely recall some sources describe this.

I don't really have the time or the skill needed to draw it by miself, and since I don't program to publish this game for now, "stolen" artwork from around the internet would be fine.
Oh, I think I can do better than that.


Once again, fixed class-race combos...

You want to play the role you are good at? Don't go random, you choice, this game allows you to do both. ...you can decide with the other player to choose everybody the card wanted, without drawing it:

As you can say, simple stuff after all.
Also, classes and race can give you special abilities.
Any suggestions about these? I'll post the races soon.
I didn't say fixed combos. The idea is that players would compete to pick a race and class, rather than taking it at random.

Certainly. But in order to avoid unseemly disagreements between players on this front, it may be wise to have certain guidelines on how to split those cards in a fair and balanced fashion, if they elect to pick race/class beforehand. Which is why a bidding system might be useful. Just something to bear in mind.

I'd have to know a little more about items, spells etc. before I could comment, but I don't see anything terribly wrong with the current setup. You might not need attributes at all if you have the right selection of items and special abilities.

[Caracol]

Oh, this is just a rough sketch, I haven't detailed any of the frills and curlicues yet. Let me do you a slightly more ornate version before you pass sentence.
I presume you'd want to preserve more-or-less the exact structure of your existing board in terms of junctions and location size? Maybe a mickey mouse arrangement for the 3 worlds, with Yggdrassil between the 'ears'?
What did you intend to do with muspell (and/or ginnungagap)?

Ok, let's see what you've got. The point is that I would like to keep the board represent the traditional rapresentation, with asgard up-midgard middle-niflheim down, with the tree well evidenced.
Muspell would be rapresented with flames in the lower part. There wouldn't be squares tracks: it will be a single square special location, reachable only with spells or special powers.
Ginnungagap was not intendend to be do by now, but I night consider to add it as a special location like muspell.



On a tangential note, I think it might be interesting if death permitted the player to travel to either Nilfheim, Asgard or Vanaheim, depending on their cause of death and patron god or goddess. Also, might we have one or two other 'evil' deities- Hel herself, or Surt?

That is what I want to do actually. If you die in combat or honorably, you are taken immediatly to Bifrost and you must travel to Asgard or Vanheim to ask for blessing. After that, you may reach the Valhalla and fight a duel of honour. If you win, you are able to come back in life and continue your travel. If you lose, you go to Hel citadel and can come back only if you convince Hel to raise you (doing a mission, giving her a precious item...).
I don't actually like the idea of "evil" deities, except for Loki, of course. After all Hel isn't even a deity, and Surtur was a the lord of fire giants, I prefer making them special (and very dangerous ) special monsters.
Remember that, except for the Loki followers, the characters are "heroes", so they shouldn't worship evil deities.



I presume the difficulty for the evil players is that, although they don't need to kill fenrir, the other players will be actively seeking to kill or obstruct these players, once they figure out what they're up to?

Basically, yes. But this game allows PvP as much as cooperation between players. You can travel together with another player, even if his objective contrasts yours, as long as you want.
Expect a lot of interaction (and of course, betrayal) here.



In that case, are you sure you need to lay down specific tracks for the players to move along? You might be able to use a grid or polar coordinate system to allow greater diversity of movement. Mountains or ocean could count as 2/3 squares, or simply force you to end your movement that turn.


I'm a bit against grid method, the board would be too large and dispersive.
Mountains can be crossed only with a good roll, and you move at normal speed in oceans unless you have a boat (magical boat, of course, there are a couple of them in norse legends.)



In that' case, I really reccommend revising the artwork to give a clear view of the ocean and Jormungand. I'd have to know more about what those 'certain squares' might be (the head, perhaps?)

Just as a suggestion- it might be interesting to put Utgard across the ocean on a small island. I vaguely recall some sources describe this.

What's your idea, exactly?
Also, are you sure about Utgard? Because a lot of sources says that is in Jotunheim, which is a montain land.



Oh, I think I can do better than that.


If you want to make some artwork I'll be very happy. I'm not so bad at drawing by myself, but right where I am now I haven't the tools nor the time to make some artwork. I would be glad if you can give me an hand with this.



I didn't say fixed combos. The idea is that players would compete to pick a race and class, rather than taking it at random.

Certainly. But in order to avoid unseemly disagreements between players on this front, it may be wise to have certain guidelines on how to split those cards in a fair and balanced fashion, if they elect to pick race/class beforehand. Which is why a bidding system might be useful. Just something to bear in mind.


What about this? Every race will have a suggested class and viceversa, so in not random game you will have classical combos, like human warrior, half-giant berserker, light elf hunter, drarf crafter...



I'd have to know a little more about items, spells etc. before I could comment, but I don't see anything terribly wrong with the current setup. You might not need attributes at all if you have the right selection of items and special abilities.

Sure. Spells and items gives you bonuses, special attacks and conditions. But since you find them playing and you can be robbed of them, you need some base attributes to rely on when you're out of other stuff.

Here's the races. I figure just some of them, and I would like to make them at least 9 (since classes and deities are 9, and 9 is a recurring number in norse mythology)

Human - no bonus/malus to attributes
Half-Giant - +1 Life, +1 Attack -1 Movement (-1 to the roll, minimum 1) -1 Defense.
Dwarf +1 Defense, -1 Charme.
Light Elf -1 Life, can memorize a single spell (will explain better when I'll post the Sage class)
Dark Elf +1 Charme, -1 Life
Amazon: +1 Attack -1 Defense

Other suggested races I tought of and I don't statted yet: Gnome and Nature Spirit (a sort of shapeshifter). That would leave us with still a race missing, and I don't know what would be. I originally tought of an undead race, but it doesn't convince me.

So, what are your thoughts?

[Alfryd]

I would like to keep the board represent the traditional rapresentation, with asgard up-midgard middle-niflheim down, with the tree well evidenced.

What's your idea, exactly?

I'm a bit against grid method, the board would be too large and dispersive.
I'll see what I can do.

Well, that there should be as close to a clear loop/strip of continuous ocean as possible.

Fair enough. I'll try to get a terrain outline done first anyways, then we'll see.

Also, are you sure about Utgard? Because a lot of sources says that is in Jotunheim, which is a montain land.
Oh... I'm recalling 3rd-hand information here. Just throwing in ideas.

Ginnungagap was not intendend to be do by now, but I night consider to add it as a special location like muspell.
I would have thought Ginnungagap forms the barrier around Muspell?

Remember that, except for the Loki followers, the characters are "heroes", so they shouldn't worship evil deities.
I should technically point out that Loki was actually a Fire Giant, Odin was ethically dubious, and you will have characters stabbing eachother merrily in the back regardless, so I wouldn't worry too much about the moral niceties. Of course, if there's some gameplay mechanic that commends a solo nemesis, I'm all ears.

...you need some base attributes to rely on when you're out of other stuff.
Well, yes, but you might just say, for a given race/class, "+1 to move and defence", or "you may attack twice against animals", etc. It might be more succinct. Or do you intend to incorporate some form of levelling?


Human - no bonus/malus to attributes
Half-Giant - +1 Life, +1 Attack -1 Movement (-1 to the roll, minimum 1) -1 Defense.
Dwarf +1 Defense, -1 Charme.
Light Elf -1 Life, can memorize a single spell (will explain better when I'll post the Sage class)
Dark Elf +1 Charme, -1 Life
Amazon: +1 Attack -1 Defense
Amazon => Valkyrie? I'm not sure about Gnome/Nature spirit- do they have clear parallels in norse mythology? I do like the 9x9 idea. Might it be possible to associate a race with each of the worlds?
I vaguely recall there was some variety of viking undead- ah, here we go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr

[Caracol]

Well, that there should be as close to a clear loop/strip of continuous ocean as possible.

Might be an idea. But how would the movement work here? Also, that would sacrifice a lot of squares good for rest/treasure/encounter.


Oh... I'm recalling 3rd-hand information here. Just throwing in ideas.

I'm using the Penguin's Book of Norse Myths by Kevin Crossley-Holland as a base reference, based majorly on the Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson, but suggest me other sources too, good ideas could come from them.


I would have thought Ginnungagap forms the barrier around Muspell?

I don't really know or remember this. I would rather consider using the Sky in substitution of Ginnungagap in this case.


I should technically point out that Loki was actually a Fire Giant, Odin was ethically dubious, and you will have characters stabbing eachother merrily in the back regardless, so I wouldn't worry too much about the moral niceties. Of course, if there's some gameplay mechanic that commends a solo nemesis, I'm all ears.

Mmmm..... Loki was a fire giant? That sounds new to me! Anyway, of course the betrayal factor, even between the Gods (they are extremely humanized in norse mythology) is important, and as you can see, I wrote in a precedent post that the character could of course stab eachother in the back whenever they want, and that's basically what will happen during the advances phases of the game. What I was trying to point out was that using "evil" deities (that weren't even deities after all, just supehuman figures) that weren't worshipped by the population would be a little odd.
There isn't a nemesis, your character loses anyway if another character reaches his goal before, whatever his goal was, freeing Fenrir or killing Jormungand.


Well, yes, but you might just say, for a given race/class, "+1 to move and defence", or "you may attack twice against animals", etc. It might be more succinct. Or do you intend to incorporate some form of levelling?

Yes, there is a levelling (by class). You can go up to 3rd level.


Amazon => Valkyrie? I'm not sure about Gnome/Nature spirit- do they have clear parallels in norse mythology? I do like the 9x9 idea. Might it be possible to associate a race with each of the worlds?

Amazon are just population in where females were the leading figures. Valkyries would be mid-level encounters istead.
I know that Gnomes, Nature Spirits and even Amazon does not really exists in this mythology, but that's the stuff I come up with whwn I realized the lack of playable races. Any suggestions?


I vaguely recall there was some variety of viking undead- ah, here we go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Draugr

Draugir will be one of the most common enemies. However I'm undecided to make them a playable race too by now.

Will post the classes later, so maybe we can come up with better ideas for the races.

[Shades of Gray]

Can you be a troll? I remember reading a book based on Norse Mythology (The Sea of Trolls), and there were trolls in it. I dunno if it was real Norse, or just something they decided to add.

[Caracol]

Playing as a troll? I don't know.... They would be to much powerful, and I see them as a recurring encounter rather than an enemy.

it's time for
CLASSES!!!!
The stats modifiers are to applied at the base stats (all 0s)
Number of items carriable is 5, magical or not.
Memorizing and item means that you don't discard it when used.

Berserker: A blood thirsty combatant with the ability of shifting to an animal state.
Level1: +2 Attack, -2 Defense, +2 Life, 1 animal form memorizable.
Level2: +2 Attack, -1 Defense, +3 Life, 2 animal forms memorizable.
Level3: +2 Attack, -1 Defense, +4 Life, 3 animal forms memorizable.

Crafter: A master in creating and modifying his equipment and magical items.
Level1: when having an item, he can draw an additional treasure card and choose what item between the two he wants. He can't get a magical item in this way. Can carry 2 additional item more than the normal.
Level2: when having an item, he can draw 2 additional treasure cards and choose what item between the three he wants. He can get a magical item in this way. Can carry 3 additional item more than the normal.
Level3: when having an item, he can draw 3 additional treasure cards and choose two item between the three he wants. He can get a 2 magical items in this way. Can carry 3 additional item more than the normal.

Hunter: An expert traveller in the wilderness.
Level1: +1 Attack, +1 Movement, 1 animal companion.
Level2: +2 Attack, +1 Defense, +2 Charme against animals.
Level3: +3 Attack, +2 Movement, +1 to Attack, Defense and Life of his companion.

Priest: An harald of the word of his deity.
Level1: can use one of his deity blessings once per turn.
Level2: can use two of his deity blessings once per turn, or one of them two times.
Level3: can use three of his deity blessings once per turn, or one of them three times.

Sage: A master in the use of runes and spells.
Level1: can memorize a rune.
Level2: can memorize two runes.
Level3: can memorize three runes.

Skald: A cantor expert in song and charmes.
Level1: +1 Charme, can memorize a song.
Level2: +2 Charme, can memorize two songs.
Level3: +3 Charme, can memorize three songs.

Vala: A female enchanter and witch.
Level1: can memorize a song, or a rune, or use a blessing of his deity.
Level2: can memorize a song and a rune, or use a blessing of his deity.
Level3: can memorize a song, a rune and use a blessing of his deity.

Warrior: A skilled fighter and a master of use of weapons.
Level1: +1 Attack, +1 Defense, +1 Life.
Level2: +2 Attack, +2 Defense, +2 Life.
Level3: +3 Attack, +3 Defense, +3 Life.

Other class to reach numer 9: Don't really know.

[Alfryd]

Alrighty then... geometric nine worlds map (2nd edition.)

http://home.graffiti.net/alfryd:graffiti.net/ArtImages/nworlds_revised.gif

You can see a highly stylised Yggdrassil in the centre above Midgard, a root (to the right) and brifrost (to the left) just below. (The black region is the sky around midgard, which helps establish layering between upper and lower worlds.)
The colour scheme is still pretty provisional, and there are plenty of details left to work out, but I can resize or relocate elements easily enough, so just let me know if they don't suit. If you're more or less happy with it, put in some buildings + beasts and I can get to work on detailing those.


Might be an idea. But how would the movement work here? Also, that would sacrifice a lot of squares good for rest/treasure/encounter.
Well, as you can see I expanded the total area of midgard to compensate, but otherwise movement is as you described, operating in a loop. (I might want to move midgard down another bit for that, actually.)

...but suggest me other sources too, good ideas could come from them.
I've honestly forgotten the title- I think it was a kids' collection?- but if you think it's an interesting notion, use it.


Can you be a troll? I remember reading a book based on Norse Mythology (The Sea of Trolls), and there were trolls in it. I dunno if it was real Norse, or just something they decided to add.
No, I seem to recall Trolls and Kobolds are both legitimate entries in Norse mythology.

Amazon are just population in where females were the leading figures.
...Playing as a troll? I don't know.... They would be to much powerful, and I see them as a recurring encounter rather than an enemy.
Well, your options are fairly limited here. I'm not sure I see anything in norse myth to suggest matriarchal societies existed at all. I don't have any especial problem with the idea, but you seem focused on sticking to the sources.

I don't really know or remember this.

Mmmm..... Loki was a fire giant? That sounds new to me!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginnungagap
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_Mythology

Ginnungagap is the space between muspell and nilfheim, (which presumably can never meet completely, since they're binary opposites.)
Farbauti, Laufey and Loki himself are all listed as Jotun (giants.)
Wikipedia also states that Utgard is indeed in Jotunheim. (This is, of course, wikipedia we're dealing with, but there you have it.)

What I was trying to point out was that using "evil" deities (that weren't even deities after all, just supehuman figures) that weren't worshipped by the population would be a little odd.
Well yes, but Loki is equally unlikely to have been worshipped by the general populace, historically speaking.

Yes, there is a levelling (by class). You can go up to 3rd level.
How is level progression determined (e.g, XP, training, exploration?) I'll be sure to examine your classes in a little more depth later.

[MisterSaturnine]

This sounds really cool, and looks like a lot of fun.

I've bookmarked this so I can make me a copy of the board game to play with my friends. Don't have much to add other than my approval, though. :smallbiggrin:

[Caracol]

Alrighty then... geometric nine worlds map (2nd edition.)

http://home.graffiti.net/alfryd:graffiti.net/ArtImages/nworlds_revised.gif

You can see a highly stylised Yggdrassil in the centre above Midgard, a root (to the right) and brifrost (to the left) just below. (The black region is the sky around midgard, which helps establish layering between upper and lower worlds.)
The colour scheme is still pretty provisional, and there are plenty of details left to work out, but I can resize or relocate elements easily enough, so just let me know if they don't suit. If you're more or less happy with it, put in some buildings + beasts and I can get to work on detailing those.

Wow, that's incredibly cool. If I ever stamp the game board, I will defenately stamp it by both sides, and one of this sides would be this one. So, please add the squares and location, I want to see it finished.



Well, as you can see I expanded the total area of midgard to compensate, but otherwise movement is as you described, operating in a loop. (I might want to move midgard down another bit for that, actually.)
There is enough space in midgard to me. Are you going to make a grid of exagons?



Well, your options are fairly limited here. I'm not sure I see anything in norse myth to suggest matriarchal societies existed at all. I don't have any especial problem with the idea, but you seem focused on sticking to the sources.
Well, I would like to stick to sources, but if I don't come up with totally invented stuff I out of playable races. Any suggestions? Or Ill' have to simply eliminate the race system?



Ginnungagap is the space between muspell and nilfheim, (which presumably can never meet completely, since they're binary opposites.)
Farbauti, Laufey and Loki himself are all listed as Jotun (giants.)
Wikipedia also states that Utgard is indeed in Jotunheim. (This is, of course, wikipedia we're dealing with, but there you have it.)


Ok, let's add Ginnungagap, but how it sould be related with the other worlds? Remember that I'm using the sky as a playable section and link between distant worlds, so basically the role of Ginnungagap.
About Loki, there are plenty of contrasting sources. In the book I'm referring at is listed as an Aesir, but then appeares in a myth as Utgard-Loki, a giant.



How is level progression determined (e.g, XP, training, exploration?) I'll be sure to examine your classes in a little more depth later.

XP for killing or charming monsters and for completing small missions. Every monster and mission has an XP value.

[Alfryd]

There is enough space in midgard to me. Are you going to make a grid of exagons?
I could if you like, but I'll see if I can place the paths and buildings correctly first. Oh- by the way- what runes did you have in mind for various path squares? Do you have any pics I could reference?

Ok, let's add Ginnungagap, but how it sould be related with the other worlds? Remember that I'm using the sky as a playable section and link between distant worlds, so basically the role of Ginnungagap.
I see. Could you explain how transit through these special locations (fenrir, muspell, and the sky) works out, exactly? -I'll try to work them into the map.


About Loki, there are plenty of contrasting sources. In the book I'm referring at is listed as an Aesir, but then appeares in a myth as Utgard-Loki, a giant.
I think that's actually a different character. Loki was considered an 'honourary Aesir' thanks to his friendship with Odin, which may explain some of the confusion.

Well, I would like to stick to sources, but if I don't come up with totally invented stuff I out of playable races. Any suggestions? Or Ill' have to simply eliminate the race system?
Well, you have humans, trolls, kobolds, (half)giants, dark elves, light elves, and dwarves. That's 7 definite races. You might consider just throwing in 2 extra human cards, to bring the total up to 9, and reflect humans being more common. (You might even chuck out trolls or kobolds.)

XP for killing or charming monsters and for completing small missions. Every monster and mission has an XP value.
My main concern on this point, and with the class/levelling system in general, would be that this sytem might be slightly too involved for people who aren't regular role-players already. If you want people able to just 'jump into' the game, you might try to streamline mechanics so they can be introduced gradually during play, rather than needing complete explanation in the rules beforehand. Just a thought.

[aaron_the_cow]

This looks like you put alot of work into it!
For a 9th class, you could do a sort of tief trixter. Maby a realy high attack but a realy low life and deffence. It could also have a realy awsome ability, but always goes derectly to Hel's Citidel.
Also, for winning, do you lose if you are a "good" and Loki wins and if a "good" hero wins you just don't get bonus points, or is it every man for himself? It would also be cool if you could convert other characters to your god for extra powers/xp/cool stuff.
just a thought