My homie Jeff over at When Suddenly Games recently released the SRD for his Imposition System, the engine that When Suddenly’s excellent upcoming RPG, The Crypt Has Opened runs on, and launched a Game Jam that started on July 1st! I had suggested to Jeff that he do both of these things, so I’d be a real jerk if I didn’t jump in and put something out. I’m still in the early days of the design, and my project doesn’t have a name yet but here’s the idea:

You are glorious warriors of the North – Drengr – named warriors all. The unblooded quake at your name and your fellow Drengr consider it an honor to fight by your side or die by your blade. It’s the peak of your career, you’ve looted and pillaged throughout the lands of men, building your legend and reputation, but one thing remains: to secure your place in Valhalla and in the sagas sung by the skalds, you need to Die A Glorious Death.

Die A Glorious Death is a 3+ player TTRPG where the players take on the roles of heroes of the Viking Age on one last glorious mission from their Jarl. Your goal is not only to ensure that the Jarl’s will is done – in fact, that’s only a small fraction of your saga – rather, your goal is lay waste to the unworthy minions until you find a foe worthy of their place in your legend: the Drengr, beast or monster who will finally kill you. 

Designed for one shots (or very, very short arcs), Die A Glorious Death uses the Imposition System’s 3-dice dicepool to build tension between your rising Glory, your vengeful Wrath and your inevitable Doom to help tell the story of how your Drengr earns Valhalla and a place at the side of the gods. 

We’re still workshopping names and rules for this game, and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

– Adam