Anyone familiar with Ragnarok:Fate of the Norns?

Best Selling RPGs - Available Now @ DriveThruRPG.com

TristramEvans

The Right Hand of Doom
Administrator
Moderator
Joined
Apr 24, 2017
Messages
36,545
Reaction score
108,584
I've become enamoured with the art of this RPG online and the notion of using runestones as a resolution mechanic. Has anyone played or read it? Its a hefty investment, but it seems well-researched and beautifully designed.

Book-Contents.jpg
 
I've never heard of it before. Has it been out for awhile? That art is quite stylish.
 
There was a Kickstarter a year or two back, but I only just encountered it.
 
It uses runes for resolution? That would be cool. I was already sold on the artwork. I will be looking for a rules preview.
 
Found a few good videos on it on Youtube...
 
Including a combat walk-through...
 
Looks way too gimicky for me. The books are certainly beautiful. Of course, the cynic in me says that they could have cut the page-count in half by not having all that expensive artwork. ;)

The books are pretty expensive as a result.
 
True, but at the same time, I probably wouldn't have looked twice at it if it wasn't for the art.
 
Late to this one, but I am quite familiar with it. I own all the books and have run a couple of campaigns with it. I ran it at gen con in 2015.

In many ways, it reminds me of d&d 4e actually. It has discrete powers and is pretty wargamey. The runes act as powers, hit points, and modifications to powers. So, for example, you can play your red rune that is bound to Power attack and your blue rune that is bound to leaping strike, or you can play your power attack rune and use your leaping strike rune to modify power attack to hit 3 targets, or use your leaping strike rune and then use your power attack rune to modify the leaping strike for double power. Both of the modifications are based on the color of the rune.

Also means you can be hit so hardness you lose access to your power attack, as it moves down into your damage track.
 
I have the main book (and a bag of runes) currently on order, so looking forward to ploughing through it. I'm not certain about the system as such, but at the very least the art/design looks amazing
 
The system is somewhat complex. The turn order is in 4 phases: drawing runes, an upkeep phase that gets pre-turn actions like automatic effects and the like, your actual turn, and a cleanup phase. The middle two are taken in order, though often upkeep doesn't need to be in order. Actions are taken in order, and you can put runes in Contingency (reactive actions), so your turn might intrude on others turns. Combat is on a hex map, and facing is a thing.

Some others have said ranged combat is very strong, though I never experienced it being particularly so. Every class has some healing abilities, though some more than others. Summoned critters can be very strong, and I suggest houseruling some limits to their power (level 12 Druid popping off with a level 30 ent sort of things)

If you like tactical combat in the 4e style, I absolutely recommend it. My group has some bad scars from 4e, combined with some lack of desire to spend time reading the system, so it didn't work out. I made up abbreviated monsters as the default system has you build out full characters for monsters, which is very time consuming. It really likes system Mastery, and the base book has some very nuanced points that are buried.

Happy to answer any questions when you get there. I answer most of the questions on their forums nowadays.
 
Yeah, I wasnt a 4e fan, and while I like me some wargaming, generally I tend to keep my RPGs really rules-light and focused on "theatre of the mind." Still, it sounds intriguingly different.
 
I've heard of this in the past. But did not know anything about the system. Which sounds awful for me. But the setting and the art in the book is amazing. If it wasn't big loot I would have to seriously consider purchasing it and using a different system for it.
 
I did end up using the runes I made for it in a 13th age game instead of Icon Relationship Rolls. Actually liked it a lot. I like the concept of the meta modification of your powers. But the turn overhead was just past us.

I could see modifying it so that you get to play one action and as many metas as you like per turn, then cycling through folks. Them it would be more like an action point system.
 
Last year I ran Ragnarok: Fate of the Norns (the story was based loosely on the D&D's Steading of the Hill Giant Chief). Fate of the Norns' Viking world has a strange, end of days and forever night/winter aspect ("Ragnarok is upon us!!"). When I run it again, I think I will skip that part.

The rules were more complicated than most games these days, and most of the players would not read the rules. Which really slowed combat way down. The two players who did read the rules were accused by the others of being too over-powered. I assured them that they were all heroes of legend, they just needed to learn and use their abilities. They never got the hang of the runes, though.

None of the players chose characters that I thought they would, they were a bard/Skald, blacksmith, spear hunter, witch, and we picked up a wolf warrior.

Character advancement seemed like a video game skill tree, it reminded me of Borderlands character advancement.
 
Last year I ran Ragnarok: Fate of the Norns (the story was based loosely on the D&D's Steading of the Hill Giant Chief). Fate of the Norns' Viking world has a strange, end of days and forever night/winter aspect ("Ragnarok is upon us!!"). When I run it again, I think I will skip that part.

I tried it for mine. Not sure I like it or not. i didn't get a lot of buy in from my folks.'
The rules were more complicated than most games these days, and most of the players would not read the rules. Which really slowed combat way down. The two players who did read the rules were accused by the others of being too over-powered. I assured them that they were all heroes of legend, they just needed to learn and use their abilities. They never got the hang of the runes, though.
definitely a game you have to read the rules. you can't screw around with it. Also, the book is not well organized. i've complained a few times to the author :smile:

None of the players chose characters that I thought they would, they were a bard/Skald, blacksmith, spear hunter, witch, and we picked up a wolf warrior.

Character advancement seemed like a video game skill tree, it reminded me of Borderlands character advancement.
I think this is pretty accurate, as I am currently playing borderlands 2 again. Unique and flavorful archetypes, but also just pretty complex.
 
I feel regret getting all the runes and then only running it for a few months. I would like to fire it back up at some point.

Has anyone else given "Ragnarok: Fate of the Norns" a go? Any success?
 
I feel regret getting all the runes and then only running it for a few months. I would like to fire it back up at some point.

Has anyone else given "Ragnarok: Fate of the Norns" a go? Any success?


The art is pretty, but I'm never going to run it unfortunately. Funny how often that's the conclusion I come to with RPGs these days - The One Ring, Sig: Manual of the Planes, etc.
 
The art is pretty, but I'm never going to run it unfortunately. Funny how often that's the conclusion I come to with RPGs these days - The One Ring, Sig: Manual of the Planes, etc.
I'm getting there with Aliens, Tales of the Loop and Symbaroum. LOL
 
There are many things I like about it. I really do. But ultimately it increases in complexity rather drastically with the runes. It’s so damn flavorful that it’s a damn shame too.
 
Runequest: Glorantha at the moment, then Edgewise Edgewise 's The Magician's House, then I've convinced others on Fate of the Norns. It'll probably be a quick sample before back to Runequest but I'm eager to try it out.

The creator of this has a Celtic themed The Children of Eriu coming out soon. Very interested to see what he does.
 
There are many things I like about it. I really do. But ultimately it increases in complexity rather drastically with the runes. It’s so damn flavorful that it’s a damn shame too.
Exactly. And the characters are innovative. The Maiden of Ratatosk and Stalo with an ancestral weapon were my two favorites.
 
Exactly. And the characters are innovative. The Maiden of Ratatosk and Stalo with an ancestral weapon were my two favorites.
Ya the maiden was a favorite. I love the Galdr too.

I may give it another shot, but I’ve got at least two other campaigns in my head I’m working on and one I’m running.
 
Bought it couple years ago based on the flavor alone. But the system proved too complex for my group, who never gave it a proper chance. Now it's number one in my to sell list, you know, the list of games you know you realistically will never run.:cry::cry::cry:
 
Bought it couple years ago based on the flavor alone. But the system proved too complex for my group, who never gave it a proper chance. Now it's number one in my to sell list, you know, the list of games you know you realistically will never run.:cry::cry::cry:
3 out of 5 of my players would not read the rules, and then complained that the guys who read the rules were over powered. LOL Frustrating.
 
There is a new Viking PbtA/Dungeon World supplement called Wyrd of Stromguard, the playbooks have some overlap with Fate of the Norns.
  • The Bearskin
  • The Skald
  • The Hunter
  • The Stormcaller
  • The Crone
  • The Fae
  • The Troll
  • The Alfir
  • The Dvergr
  • The Jötunnborn
And some compendium classes:
  • The Seidr
  • The Runecaster
  • The Fae-Touched
  • The Voyager
  • The Ulfhednar
  • The Unsavage
  • The Ghost Rider
 
Banner: The best cosmic horror & Cthulhu Mythos @ DriveThruRPG.com
Back
Top