Kindreds of Yggsgraf

Posted
Comments None

In Yggsgraf there aren’t a bunch of demihumans running around. It’s a world more informed by the folklore and dark fairy tales of our world than the exhaustive taxonomies routinely included in fantasy literature and role-playing games. There are humans, and there are the others, a hidden people with their own weird customs and magic. I’ll call them wights.

Wights seem familiar and yet alien, like the elves, goblins, trolls, and great fairies of folklore. There are two kinds: the Fair and the Dread. They move in twilight, guarding mounds, tombs, and wild places. They recoil from the touch of iron and they steal human children, leaving their changelings behind in exchange. They are fell and dweomercrafty, and speak with animals. In their secret lairs and citadels, they may be solitary or social. Wights are very rare in human society— only those who swear an unbreakable oath of allegiance to a human master and are branded with their master’s mark are available to players.

That makes three playable kindreds for a starting delver: humans, wights, and changelings. Here are the relevant game terms for each:

  • Humans: Humans are very adaptable— multiply any ability x4/3 (player’s choice). Humans can be Warriors or Rogues, but not full Wizards.
  • Wights: Wights may be any Type, but are very obviously not human. Drop one die when using weapons of iron or steel, and halve the protection from iron or steel armor. They also have an extra “Wight-born” talent, useful for knowing the ways of their kindred and speaking with animals. In human society they depend on their human patrons to stave off intolerance and suspicion.
    • Fair wights require a minimum 15 Charisma before Kin multipliers. They get IQ & CHA x3/2, CON x1/3. Fair wights tend to be inhumanly enchanting; the player should pick a few strange habits and effects that give the Fair wight away.
    • Dread wights may have no greater than 9 in Charisma before Kin multipliers. They get STR & CON x3/2, CHA x1/3. The player should pick some off-putting, frightening, or beast-like traits for a Dread wight.
  • Changelings appear to be human in every way, but they are clearly exceptional. A changeling player can multiply any ability x3/2, offset by any other ability x2/3. Changelings can be any Type, and they can use iron with a penalty -1 to the weapon adds and/or protection value.

I stole these ideas mercilessly from Eero Tuovinen, Mike Monaco, Vincent Baker and others, but the flavor comes from Norse mythology and other fairy tales. In my favorite stories, fairy encounters aren’t distinguished so much by the species of the fairy, as much as it is by the being’s unique otherworldly character.

Author
Categories ,

Comments

Commenting is closed for this article.

← Older Newer →