Dream Realm Storytellers, aka DRS Publishing, started with Svilland, a brutal Viking fantasy for 5e. Geek Native reviewed Svilland in 201,9 saying;
If you like 5e and are tempted by a Vikings game, then I think you’ll like Svilland. I think you’ll get the most from the game, though, if you’re interested in the storytelling rather than a dungeon crawl, though. Why? It’s the setting that really matters here, not what you’re fighting in a dungeon.
And what do I know? The Türkiye-based publisher has announced a new version of Svilland that’s likely all about the conflict.
Today, Umut Çomak of DRS and Serkan Özay of Hero Concept have announced a partnership. Hero Concept is an indie computer games studio also in Türkiye.
The two companies will create a Svilland deckbuilding video game!
DRS has been on a roll, and (your computer might have concerns about the following shop link) has a 40% sale on their store and some discounts at DriveThruRPG. Recent successes, though, have been around titles like Corpus Malicious – The Codex of Evil and companion 5e piece Corpus Angelus – The Codex of Good, both of which did well on Kickstarter.
Even more recent projects have been the quirky and food-based 5e setting Silverplate, in which you play sentient meals, or the grimdark Bloodpunk.
I’m a bit surprised to see the company coming back to Svilland, especially as any of DRS’ other settings could become a deckbuilder as easily.
For the seasoned gamer, deckbuilding represents a compelling fusion of strategic card game mechanics and roguelike progression. You don’t go into character or even advance a character. Instead, you advance your deck either in the “planning” between the games phase or the “tactics” of the battle.
The genre’s appeal lies in its emergent gameplay and high replayability. Each run presents a unique challenge, forcing adaptation and improvisation as players navigate randomised encounters and card acquisition.
We don’t yet know how DRS and Hero Concept will handle deck building; it could be the familiar model where people with lots of money can buy lots of virtual bundles of randomly selected cards until they have good ones, or something more card acquisition progressive.
Either way, though, the Svilland card game will likely see Viking warriors, rune-wielders and Norse-inspired gods going to battle.
What are your thoughts? Strike up a discussion and leave a comment below.
