DCC Fimbulwinter - Session 5

Once again the session revolved around Magnus McAnthony, the asshole wizard with the d30 choking cloud spell.

Eventually one of the level 0 characters tired of this and stabbed him in the back, ending his reign of dungeon genocide. Then he was stabbed in turn by the other PCs.

Meanwhile the players encountered two really cool villains I'd developed and killed them both before they got to do anything cool.

PC deaths: 5
Treasure obtained: ~1500sp (that's silver standard mind you)

The high lethality has been fun but it's getting old. Only one character still survives from the 2nd session. Most of the deaths today could have been prevented if they hadn't fought each other and if they'd remembered to bring a cleric.

DCC Fimbulwinter Session 4

 

"This choking cloud only lasts for another 2 minutes, so let's just run through the dungeon so we can clear as many rooms as possible before it expires!"

This was after the cloud had already killed three party members.

Three more PCs died before the session was over - the last of them by falling down a hole while fleeing from the dungeon.

No treasure acquired.

DCC Fimbulwinter, Session 3

They finally got to level 1 and picked character classes.
- One PC is an absolute monster with 18hp and +5+d3 attack bonus. But to get his full attack bonus he must wield a pitchfork.
- A wizard PC rolled 98 for mercurial magic - can cast Choking Cloud with a d30 instead of d20.
- Party was hired to carry out a blood feud assassination. Reminded not to kill too many people or the feud would only be perpetuated further.
- Attack on the longhouse ended with the aforementioned wizard casting Choking Cloud, rolling a 30 on the d30 and slaughtering everyone in the building, men women children and slaves (but sparing the goat). No save - or rather, the save DC is equal to the spell check, so nobody short of a deity could have passed it.
- Then they burned down the longhouse to 'hide the evidence'. Now they have to leave town in a hurry, but they did get paid.

The group seems to love DCC. One player who started on 4th edition said he preferred this because he felt like he had "earned" the right to be 1st level (and have 18hp and a game-breaking perfect storm of attack bonuses.)

DCC Fimbulwinter Session 2

 

- Reskinned 'Portal Under the Stars' as a buried longship

- A more balanced slaughterfest than last week: seven died and nine survived to reach level 1

- four PCs killed by the shitty sub-zero-level skull monsters; the giant snake miniboss was killed before he got a chance to act. Teamwork and planning made all the difference.

- The final fight is kind of a joke if the PCs do all the stuff that mitigates the threat: the clay soldiers all melted, the generals all turned to dust, so it was just the PCs against one lone warlord. A crit reduced his movement speed to 0 and they kicked him into the pool.

- When tallying up treasure I always think "I gave them way too much" and after it's divided between the party I always think "I gave them too little"

Also, though this may be of limited interest to those outside the game: a high score board for all characters living and dead: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FCPeez2BHTqPh9wtb2DIY-dzRtPB3wAzRvrPWF9uNo0/edit

DCC Fimbulwinter - Session 1 report

I usually find play reports boring as hell so I will try to keep this snappy and interesting:

- 15 funnel PCs captured by anthropophagic elf sorceress
- Me one hour into the session: "Shit, I pulled my punches too much on this dungeon, I'm not even going to kill any of them"
- Sorceress critically fails two spell checks in a row, then rolls an enormous check and hypnotizes 5 PCs in one round
- PCs murdering each other. Not because of the hypnosis thing, purely of their own volition.
- Last PC flees for the exit. Grabbed by giant frog, shrugs off his backpack containing all the (meagre) treasure in order to escape.

I'm using an SP=XP system, with 0-level characters starting at -100xp. The sole survivor's only loot was a single silver spoon, so he is still 98xp away from acquiring a class.

Gods of the Norsemen

Odin
Alignment: Lawful
God of: Wisdom, Victory, Prophecy, Magic, The Hunt
1st-level spells: Detect Magic, Second Sight, Protection from Evil, Blessing
Unholy creatures: undead, demons, chaotic spirits and beings, mundane animals
Weapons: Spear, Sword, Staff, Sling
Servants: Huginn and Muninn, ever-watchful ravens; Geri and Freki, ravenous wolves; Sleipnir, eight-legged horse.

Thor
Alignment: Lawful
God of: Thunder, Strength, Healing
1st-level spells: Word of Command, Protection from Evil, Resist Cold or Heat, Blessing
Unholy creatures: undead, demons, elves, dwarves
Weapons: Hammer, Staff, Mace
Servants: Thjalfi, the world's fastest runner, and his wife Roskva; Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjostr, mighty goats.

Njord
Alignment: Neutral
God of: Sea, Wind, Wealth
1st-level spells: Resist Cold or Heat, Holy Sanctuary, Food of the Gods, Blessing
Unholy creatures: undead, demons, mundane animals, creatures of earth including dwarves
Weapons: Axe, Bow, Spear
Servants: Radveig and Kreppvor, his daughters.

Freyja
Alignment: Neutral
Goddess of: Love, Fertility, Gold
1st-level spells: Food of the Gods, Protection from Evil, Word of Command, Detect Evil
Unholy creatures: undead, demons, non-living creatures, dwarves
Weapons: Bow, Spear, Staff
Servants: Hildisvini, a mighty boar; two cats, names unknown.

Loki
Alignment: Chaotic
God of: Trickery, Fire, Dishonour
1st-level spells: Darkness, Paralysis, Detect Magic, Word of Command
Unholy creatures: undead, valkyries, einherjar, light elves
Weapons: Sword, Dagger, Throwing Knife, Flail
Servants: Sigyn, his faithful wife; Narfi, his son who became a wolf.

Hel
Alignment: Chaotic
Goddess of: Death, the Underworld
1st-level spells: Darkness, Second Sight, Resist Cold or Heat, Word of Command
Unholy creatures: undead, valkyries, einherjar, mundane animals
Weapons: Axe, Scythe, Javelin.
Servants: Dead souls of thieves, murderers and those without honour.

Jesus Christ
Alignment: Lawful
God of: Peace, Love, Charity
1st-level spells: Holy Sanctuary, Blessing, Protection from Evil, Detect Evil
Unholy creatures: undead, demons, elves, dwarves, pagan spirits
Weapons: Club, Mace, Hammer, Sling
Servants: Cherubim and saints.

FIMBULWINTER campaign primer

An axe-age, a sword-age, shields shall be cloven; a wind-age, a wolf-age, ere the world totters.

Cold, darkness, violence and betrayal are the hallmarks of the Fimbulwinter, the last great winter that heralds the end of the world. The end will approach gradually: the actual length of this last terrible season may be one year or it may be one hundred, depending on what happens during that time. Springs and summers will come and go for a while, but each will be less bright than the last. Although Ragnarok looms on the horizon, the PCs will have plenty of time to engage in low-level adventures and pursue their own personal goals. Nor is the apocalypse destined to play out in a particular manner, for the PCs may well have a hand in it before the dark season is over.

Fighters of Scandinavia are generally Vikings, those who sailed on longships to distant lands either as explorers, merchants or pirates. Other fighters might be housecarls who serve in a particular house, or mercenaries, wandering brigands, etc.

Thieves are much the same as they ever are, professional lawbreakers, footpads, pickpockets and con artists, whose trades are ubiquitous in time and place.

Clerics will mostly be priests of the Norse pantheon, picking a specific god to whom they pay homage. The following gods are common, although others are also allowed.
Lawful: The Aesir - Odin, Thor, Tyr, Bragi.
Neutral: The Vanir - Njord, Freyr, Freyja, Heimdall.
Chaotic: Loki, Hel.
For foreigners, gods of other realms are also viable, e.g. Jesus, Allah, Lugh, Satan.

Wizards are those who shun the magic of the gods and seek power for men alone. Many strike bargains with powerful supernatural beings in order to gain greater power. Common patrons who offer bargains include Utgarda-Loki, the giant illusionist; Angrboda, mother of monsters; the Norns, who weave the threads of destiny; and the King of Alfheim, lord of the timeless elves.

That which is called Álfheimr is one, where dwell the peoples called Light-Elves; but the Dark-Elves dwell down in the earth, and they are unlike in appearance, but by far more unlike in nature.

Elves are long-lived, fair and cold-hearted. They care little for the struggles of mortal beings, but sometimes deign to venture abroad from their holts in Alfheim, playing for awhile at the games of humanity. Dark Elves dwell deep beneath the earth in Nidavellir; they are like their forest cousins, but with more of cruelty and less of playfulness.

Many a likeness of men they made, the dwarfs in the earth, as Durin said. 

Dwarves are also long-lived; they are cruel and capricious, and their hearts are warmed only by greed. In their secret halls beneath the mountains they craft magical artifacts of unparalleled quality. Those who go adventuring are usually outcasts from their home people, and usually have little love for men or gods.

Halflings are an obscure race, possibly descended from the union of men and elves. They live exclusively in Shetland, where they have been driven into the hills and hidden valleys by the arrival of Danish settlers. They generally lack a taste for adventure, but Halfling PCs will be the exceptions.

Other races and classes are available by negotiation. If the rules for it don't seem broken, and you can argue convincingly how it fits into the setting, then you can play it. 





The Gods of the Norsemen are somewhat different to the typical D&D depiction of deities; they are somewhat weaker, though still very powerful. The Aesir are not abstract conceptual entities and they are not sustained or created by belief in them. They have discrete physical forms and they are, theoretically at least, vulnerable to physical threats; but they all possess mighty magic, powerful artifacts and superhuman abilities. Nevertheless, one god has died in the past, and it may yet happen again.

Out of the Ice-waves issued venom-drops, waxing until a giant was;
Thence are our kindred come all together,-- so it is they are savage forever.

 
Giants, by contrast, are considerably more powerful than the D&D depiction would have them. Rarely have mortals defeated giants in open combat, although trickery has sometimes served them better. The greatest giants are rivals to the gods themselves, and it is feared that when the gods and giants go to war it will signal the end of the world. Not all giants are evil or murderous, however; some, like Utgarda-Loki, simply keep to themselves, and in at least one case a giantess had a child by a human lover.

 Nine worlds I knew, the nine in the tree, with mighty roots beneath the mold.

The Nine Worlds, or Nine Realms, are not separate planes of existence, as in some conceptions of Norse mythology. Rather, they are for the most part separate terrestrial regions, although some are high in the sky or deep beneath the earth. The Nine Realms are as follows: Midgard, where men dwell; Asgard, home of the gods; Jotunheim, or Giantland; Alfheim, the secret realms of the elves; Nidavellir, subterranean home of the dark elves; Muspellheim, land of fire; Niflheim, land of ice; Hel, land of the dead; and Vanaheim, where once the Vanir dwelled.