Paolo Greco’s Wulfwald Kickstarter has met funding targets and brings together Anglo-Saxon experts with game designers. The result will be an RPG of politics, intrigue and violence.
In the game, characters are Wolfsheads, outcasts and adventures trying to earn their way back into society. You can find out more, or pledge, from the project page.
Despite having real-life Anglo-Saxon experts Alison Killilea and Katie Wakelin, Wulfwald: The Kings Wolfpack is a mythic game. There are monsters and magic.
Wulfwad uses old-school based mechanics, following a universalist approach so that it’s broadly compatible with B/X, OSE and others, but it’s not a retro-clone itself. You need to supply your own rules to the setting as the team believes you probably have enough of them already.
So, what do you get in terms of mechanics, then?
The 12 Wolfhead types are split into classes; four warriors, four wizards and four skirmisher types. Character progression happens and is based on an early idea by D&D co-creator Dave Arneson with 3 levels (and with a 9 level version if you’re playing B/X).
Each class also has their own selection of magic, skills and things to make them different. Magic has been tailored to suit the setting, so there are curses and necromancy, more the stuff of legend than comics.
The player characters in Wulfwald are outsiders and outlaws. Known as Wolfsheads, they are outside the law’s protection. Anyone can harm or even kill them without fear of retribution, like if they killed a wolf. The life of a Wolfshead is a life of fear, mistrust, and privation. In this world being excluded from society is perilous: you might survive, but you will not thrive. Tired of being lone Wolfsheads, the characters work at the service of a Thegn, a noble warrior-lord Together, they form his Wolfpack, a dire weapon to be wielded, and wielded ruthlessly.
There are three character levels by default in Wulfwald, and there are three tiers for backers who want rewards.
The first is £10, which gets you a PDF version of the books, map file and digital stretch goals the campaign will now make.
At £40, backers get the boxed set of the four booklets the team is making, with a cloth map and the digital goodies from the tier before.
The top tier is a Wholesale pack, listed at £80, which gets retailers four boxed sets to sell.
The digital fulfilment is slated for August 2022, and the physical goodies are due in March 2023.
What do you think? Measured observations are welcome and you can leave them in the comment section below.
