Yggdrasill Core Rulebook by Cubicle 7 now available from RPGNOW!

Vikings, who doesn’t love them? Especially when you’ve got the team behind the awesome Qin: the Warring States RPG behind it? These guys are really good at researching a setting and conveying the mood and themes of a particular milieu so I’m certain that this will be a really good read. I’m definitely looking forward to doing a review of this book, or even a Let’s Study Series (maybe with Qin as well? now that’s an idea…)

“Hearing I ask, from the holy races,
From Heimdall’s sons, both high and low;
Thou wilt, Valtfather, that I well relate
Old tales I remember, of men long ago”
– Völuspa, stanza 1

Thus begins the saga of the Fate of the Northmen, the Prophecy of the Völva…

Yggdrasill is a game of exciting adventure in a detailed and fascinating setting from the team behind Qin: The Warring States RPG. Become a hero in the Scandia of
legend – intrigue, combat, quests, magic and mythic creatures await…!

As heroes in search of adventure, glory and immortality, you will take part in great battles which will lead you from the snowy plains of Jutland to the halls of kings. Perhaps your characters will become heroes recognised by Odin the Formidable himself in his feasting-hall in Valhalla, as he awaits the time of Ragnarök, the final
battle against the giants and their kin, which marks the end of the time of legends and of the Gods themselves.

Mercenary or hirdmen, berserkr or noble, prophetess or sorcerer, Fate will guide you through frozen fjords, deep seas, and monster-haunted forests. Skalds will sing of your exploits for centuries to come!
Men of the North!
The legend starts here!

Yggdrasill Core Rulebook is now available from RPGNow for only $24.99 or roughly PHP 1,125.00

[nMage Manila by Night] Inspirational Imagery

A good friend of mine, Amiel Lapuebla put up a small collection of photos that he took in a photography workshop in Quiapo, Manila. There are some pretty striking images there that I felt would be great inspiration for anyone looking to run a game set in Manila.

This is probably my favorite of the lot, showing a host of tiny medallions, all of which have been blessed or imbued with some sort of blessing or other. Merchants near the Quiapo Church sell these, purporting that they can do a host of things from protecting someone from illness, warding away curses, and getting someone to love you. The fact that these guys sell this stuff so close to the Catholic church just plays up the strange paradox of belief that people here have, with an acceptance of both the Catholic faith and witchcraft / sorcery.

These next two are an interesting study in the themes of Poverty vs. Faith. The first image with the stooped over lady and a statue of Jesus without hands tells a tragic story, and is an interesting symbol for how people sometimes feel that Faith has done nothing for them. The second one isn’t actually any more optimistic, but the play of light over the homeless man at the bottom of a stairwell can both be a symbol of hope, or another paradox as he’s too mired in poverty to see it.

—

Of course, as always the art of photography involves the ability to tell a story in a single image. Manila is a place of highs and lows, but I chose these three as a representation of what a Manila might be like in the World of Darkness. Hope you guys liked it!