Of Gods and Relics by Ulta

Intro

posted by Ulta Original SA post

Of Gods and Relics aka Vikings Fuck Yah!

Of Gods and Relics (OGAR) is a game that came out recently by some local guys. Their site is here http://www.randomencounters.net/Of_Gods_and_Relics.html . This is going to fall under the "Obscure" section as it seems like there is actually a really good game in these pages. I haven't played it yet, but I'm hoping to, and hopefully I can meet the developers at some point. Lets start!

To give an overall summary, OGAR is a game about Vikings who live in Not-Norway. Ragnarok is about to break out, in a vague prophetic way, so our heroes better get there stuff in gear and start finding the relics of the gods if they want to survive the coming apocalypse. Of course, non-believers, monsters, and the general harshness of the world around you will try and stop you. OGAR is different from most games in two major ways

1. Instead of rolling for how you do something (e.g. I use thievery to unlock the lock, I use my skill with an axe to smash his skull), you stats are the why and you roll for the why you do something (e.g. I use belief in my Kin to unlock the door to free them, I use my Honor to smash in the skull of the man who insulted me)

2. Death is always optional. Pcs who face death can opt to be killed, or opt to survive, and take something called a "macula" which is similar to a tag in fate

The core mechanic is a d12 poll. 7 and over on the d12 count as a success. 12s count as a success plus a reroll. All rolls are opposed, so to endure the wind, the Pc might fall back on his Joy for life, and the GM might roll the Indifference of nature.

Next time on On Gods and Relics, we look at classes, aka why you shouldn't stand so close berzerker

Races

posted by Ulta Original SA post

Of Gods and Relics aka Vikings Fuck Yah!

Last time I promised classes, but I'gonna take us on a detour for

this guy.

Races
So there are two races in OGAR, humans and Dvaerg Fodt. Dvaerg Fodt are born from members of the Vendai tribe (aka Viking) about 1 or 2 a season. Dvaerg Fodt are similar to people with dwarfism, except they are sterile, are good with mining, and are the only people who can do magic. When a Dvaerg Fodt is born, it is taken from its parents, and placed in a special commune to be raised with other Dvaerg Fodt. There they mine, blacksmith, and do rune magic. Mechanically, humans and Dvaerg Fodt are exactly the same, except Dvaerg Fodt can be the Runemaster class and humans can not. Detour finished.

Classes
There are 4 classes you can be in OGAR

Warrior
Berzerker
Skald
Runemaster

Warriors are bad ass Vikings. Warriors have the ability to swear an oath every session. The oath forms a new dice pool that can only be used to fulfill that oath. The oath can be anything, be it long term or short term, but you can only have one at a time. "Upon the blood of my ancestors, I will kill you tonight" or "As long as your family lives, I will see they come to no harm" both work.

Berserkers are fighters that can enrage at any moment and kill everything. Beserkers have another "beserker" pool, which can be as high as 10 (while all other pools can only be as high as 6). To use the berserker pool, the beserker has to go berserk, which means he fights till he dies or everyone around him/her else is dead. This can be a liability to his companions, but there are ways to get out of the way.

Skalds are bard like chroniclers of legend. By narrating a legend to inspire his companions, the Skald creates a pool of bonus dice the other characters can use. If you like making up legends on the fly, this is the class for you.

Runemasters carve runes into wood, rock, or flesh. Runemasters create runes which are a word or a very short phrase. Pcs can use the rune to get bonus dice tasks that the word or phrase apply to. The runecaster could carve the "Courage" rune into a fort, to boost the courage of those defending the fort.


Next time - I'll create a character, maybe I'll talk about these Relics

Character Creation

posted by Ulta Original SA post

Of Gods and Relics aka Vikings Fuck Yah!

Lets make a character!

The rulebook defines 6 steps. Really there's only 4 but lets do this!

Step 1 Choose your stats

So earlier I said you roll for the why you do things, not the how, and your stats reflect that. I'm going to want to play a hyper-violent viking, who has a softer side, but is very traditional. I'll pick Honor, Dogma, Ancestry, and Joy as my four stats. Now I assign 6 through 3 to each

Dogma 6
Honor 5
Joy 4
Ancestry 3

Step 2 Choose a race

I'll be a badass Dvaerg Fodt.

Step 3 Choose a class
I'm going to choose Berserker, because flipping out is what Vikings do. I'll have to reduce one of my stats in 2:1 ratio to form my berserker stat. I'll choose Honor. Now my stats are

Dogma 6
Honor 1
Joy 4
Ancestry 3
Beserker 8

Step 4 Choose a name
Bjorn Rageiron is probably a good name for a Dwarf beserker.

Step 5 "Develop your character though the mundane"
Basically say what your character does on a normal day. I'll say Bjorn eats a dozen eggs and then fights with his 12 viking siblings.

Step 6 Start playing!
Wasn't that painless?

Next time - I'll get to relics and potestas and macula

Relics

posted by Ulta Original SA post

Cool! I tend to hang out at Dogs of War when I game in public

Now its time for...

Of Gods and Relics aka Vikings Fuck Yah!

So Relics must be an important part of this game, since its in the title. Relics are similar to artifacts in D&D. They are powerful things passed down from the gods that can do powerful things.

Relics have stats like players, except they tend to have stats named things like "Hatred", "Conquest" or "Vanity" along with stats that a player might have. Relics also can try and force their owners to act in a way their owners might not find particularly advantageous. Happening upon a peaceful village would be a bad time to fail the roll and be filled with the lust for conquest (actually this sounds awesome).

Relics gain strength over time, so it gets harder and harder to resist, but then they also are more useful. Relics also tend to attract followers, who are NPCs who follow you around because you are the holder of the relic. These followers will follow your orders and generally be helpful. Except they are on the side of the relic when it tries to get you to conquer that village. So instead of you and relic butting heads, you'll be surrounded by an angry mob, chanting for blood, while trying to remain calm.


Potestas and Macula
Just to finish things up, I'll bring up Potestas and Macula. Potestas are advantages your character acquires over time. You can get Potestas generally by sparing the life of important NPCs. Potestas act like attributes in FATE, in if your Potestas applies, you get another dice.

Macula are the opposite of Potestas. Macula are generally acquired by taking enough wounds to die. Then your presented with a choice. Either die, or don't die, and come back with a macula

And thats Of Gods and Relics. If people have specific questions, I can answer them