Runecairn: Wardensaga

Books | 2022 | Links: Print | Itch.io

Runecairn: Wardensaga Now Available from Exalted Funeral

In a long-forgotten age, a raging war shattered and devastated the worlds of gods and men. Now green life blooms amidst the ruins of the lost worlds. Wondrous and terrible beings roam the Nine Realms. Civilisation stumbles forward, fresh and reaching.

Fate carves the skein anew but there are loose threads, lost long ago in the wars, with no place in the tapestry. These threads must seek the fire within and weave their own path.

Strap on your bearded axe and linden wood shield, delve into the forsaken barrow and cleanse the draugr within. They will overhwhelm you at first so prepare to die. But when you wake up at the bonfire, you’ll know what to expect for your next attempt. Parry their attacks, disarm them, and hack them to pieces. Defeat the mad jotunn within and claim the soul remnant they protect.

Death is not the end.

What is Runecairn: Wardensaga?

Runecairn is a Soulslike Norse fantasy RPG by Colin Le Sueur for 1-3 players. Character creation is quick and intuitive, dynamic combat is intense and reactive. Wardensaga combines the Runecairn: Core Rules, introductory dungeon crawl adventure Beneath the Broken Sword, and newly introduced Advanced Rules in an 84-page deluxe hardcover edition with a cover from ground-breaking artist CROM.

Runecairn: Wardensaga is published by Exalted Funeral and is available in hardcover and softcover.

Wardensaga Features:

Set in a Norse fantasy world some time after Ragnarok
Core gameplay designed for 2 players, one Warden and one Adventurer
Streamlined d20 roll-under rules based on Cairn, Into the Odd, and Knave
Soulslike mechanics such as resurrecting at bonfires, respawning monsters, and dynamic combat
Quickstart dungeon crawl adventure Beneath the Broken Sword, perfect for new players
4 core starting classes: Warrior, Scout, Seer, Skald
2 new advanced classes: Berserkr, Pyre
New options for solo play with a rune-based oracle
New random delve generator for creating Norse dungeons
New options for 3 or more players with summoned allies (jolly cooperation!) and invasions

Illustrated throughout with evocative black and white line-art and splashes of colour. Printed in mixed black and white with colour highlights and colour covers.

What People Are Saying

Chris McDowall (@Bastionland), designer and creator of Into the Odd and Electric Bastionland:

I absolutely love Runecairn! As soon as I read it I wanted to steal its ideas. It changed the way I think about the type of games that the Into the Odd system can run.

Rich August (@RpgAugust), designer and writer at Steamforged Games (Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game):

Thank you for such an awesome game - I loved reading Runecairn and it’s on my list of 2022 games to get to the table. And the layout is lovely too.

Richard Kelly (@SprintingOwl), designer:

If you’re looking for a moderately crunchy duo TRPG, or if you’re a fan of Souls games, or if you want to see a stellar adaptation of video game mechanics to tabletop, I would strongly recommend giving Beneath the Broken Sword (and Runecairn) a shot.

Sebrina Calkins (@EntwifeXP), reviewer:

This is a quality game, adapting Cairn to an apocalyptic Norse setting with a greater emphasis on arms, armour and combat without losing the deadly and considered tone of its forebear.