Skirmisher Game Development - Ragnarok!

NOTE: I have updated this post with pdf reference sheets for the Sonderlander and easterner troop lists [corrected, because I made a couple of mistakes in this article statwise]. You can take a look an download them with the links just below the art.They are set up like business cards, so you can print and cut them out if you want, or just use them full sheet.

If you happened by the Skirmisher Game Pavilion at Comicpalooza this year or last, you might have found me teaching and happily playing a miniatures game that I have been developing for d-Infinity's Skirmisher Publishing. I have posted about it a bit in the past, and done articles in two d-Infinity Magazines!

The Game, as the title of this post might have let slip, is Ragnarok! a skirmish level game set amidst the chaos of the end of the Viking World!

By skirmish level, i refer to a level of play in which each figure represents one man - or elf, troll, giant, dragon, etc. This is not a game of massive armies. This is a game of personal struggles between heroes and not -so heroes hoping to carve out a piece of the last lands available for their folk, or failing that, to cut their way into the afterlife of Asgard just in time to go down swinging against the biggest baddies of Norse Mythology.

So you know, and to explain the pedigree of the game, and give credit where it is certainly due - Ragnarok is based on the rock-solid foundation of Chevauchee, another Skirmisher title by Robert McLaughlan and Micheal Varhola , which gives you everything you need to play out the sort of back and forth raid/ counter-raid action that made up much of the Hundred Years War. I took the core mechanics of Chevauchee and Viking-ized it - adding monsters, magic, forked beards and LOTS of mailshirts where there had previously been Knights, coats of plates, arbalests, siege engines, handgonnes, etc.

When I am not madly writing [which is ALLTHETIME at present] other things like an entire Neo-Anachronistic Chivalric Science Fantasy RPG called Knights-Marshal of the Commonwealth, I am working on playtesting and expanding Ragnarok! from the demo versions I have run at Comicpalooza.

So I am playing hooky from the Commonwealth for a day, and getting some quality time in with Ragnarok! [yes, the exclamation mark is part of the title]. In large part, I am doing this because my wife, who runs an RPG set in the Savage North - a setting for Openquest - asked me if I thought we could play out a couple of upcoming battles in her campaign using Ragnarok! I said yes, of course! Firstly because Ragnarok! so totally can do it, and secondly because I get to play around with Ragnarok! for a few hours. It might also have something to do with wanting to keep my wife happy while simultaneously blaming her for me playing hooky, and definitely has to do with me getting to work out my RPG character for Ragnarok!

There - preamble done. Now we can get into the meat of this post - The Sonderlanders' War!

The basic situation is a small scale war between the scattered chieftains of the Sonderlands, a region in the Savage North that easily fits the definition of a viking fantasy-cognate. The Sonderlanders, fragmented under the rule of a weak king, are being picked apart by sorcerers leading Easterners - essentially Huns or Sarmatians - horse nomads who are here mostly for the pillage. The Easterners have driven off some folk of Sonderland, slaughtered dome more, and are in the process of selling or seizing the rest, all with the tacit approval of the Queen, their countrywoman. 

Enter the Player Characters - Right!?

Donnan Corrag is a half-blood Bogdannan wanderer from south of the Gryphon Mountains [Bogdan is the Savage North's cognate of Cimmeria] who traveled north to bring an heirloom back to his dead mother's people, incidentally awakening his gift for sorcery in the process. Now he and his friends are traveling to the West Coast and the Imperial enclave to study. But on the way, as often happens, a war breaks out. Helping his friends, some of whom have ties to Sonderland, embroils them all in the war against the Easterners.

'The Sonderlander's 'War' is relatively small time, with numbers of combatants in the dozens for most battles. While a lot of RPFs would struggle with this sort of stuff, Ragnarok! is the perfect vehicle to play it out. I can't give you any of the scenarios, because I haven't played them yet. See this space later.

What follows are Stats for the forces in Ragnarok! terms, which readily parse to Chevauchee as well, for the most part. You can get Chevauchee here, and it is well worth the price. I have included pretty much what you need to run Sorcerers, as well as a dozen or so spells. You can get the full sorcery rules in d-Infinity magazine #6 or #7, along with the Ragnarok! scenarios from Comipalooza, AND a bunch of great gaming articles for various rpgs and more [seriously - the print and play board game Dagon Rising is worth it all by itself]!

Chevauchee will also introduce you to all the concepts used in Ragnarok! which will not see publications for several months yet. 

There are some playtest changes I am working on included. They differ from Chevauchee, and the stats here are written with the changes in mind. You can ignore the changes if you want to play this out using Chevauchee, or work with what is here, and adapt the core of the published game.

I encourage you to try this stuff out with a copy of Chevauchee. Feel free to contact me with questions, comments, or the results of your attempt.

Chevauchee troops for Savage North

Sonderlanders: Heroes

A kick ass Earl or Earless:

[Elite Medium Horse, +2 to Hit, Defense 16+1/ Shield; Wounds 3]

Sword, Class 3, +0 to hit, Outright Kill 16, Shield, saex;

Medium Horse with caparison - A mount may trample up to one soldier per turn. The attack is rolled following all weapon attacks with an attack modifier of +0, Outright Kill 18. The standard +1 charging modifier may be applied in the first turn of melee.

Total: Sword +2 to hit, OK 16, Def 16, 3 Wounds.

The PCs: Donnan, Isabella, Albrecht, Erik, Hargrim, Tullius

Donnan Corag– Rank 1 Sorcerer [1 Magic Point, 2 Spells].

• Veteran [+1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds] Medium Cavalry [+3 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+6]; Def 14+1; With: Sword [Class 3, +0], Shield [+1 Def]

• Dismounted: Veteran +1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds, Medium Armour [+2 Def, Move 7, Charge 1d6+2]; Def 13+1; With Two-Handed Axe: Class 3, +2 to hit, OK 15], Longbow [Range 16, +1/-2, OK 17], Sword [Class3, +1 to hit, OK 17], Shield.
• Heal: Spend a Wound or Hero Point to Heal 1 Wound to self or another. No magic roll is required, but you must spend a move or attack action to do so. If you spent a Hero Point, you can cast this instantly to heal someone who would die from the Wound, yourself included.
• Countermagic: Negate an enemy spell targeting you. This spell may cast immediately as a response action. You must still make a Magic roll vs. 10 + the level of the enemy spellcaster.

Total: +2 to hit with sword – OK 17, +3 to hit with 2HAx – OK 15, Def 15, 3 Wounds,

Hero Points: 2

Isabella:

• Regular  [+0 to hit, 10 Def, 1 Wound] Light Horse [+2 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+9]; Bow Range 12, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def].
• Magic Rapier: Class 4, +1 to hit and OK.

Total +1 to hit with sword [OK 17], +0 with Bow, Def 13+1, 2 Wounds.

Hero Points: 2

Albrecht: Shieldwall

• Veteran [+1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds] Medium Cavalry [+3 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+6];
• Spear [Class 4, +0] and shield [+1 Def], with one of Sword [Class 3, +0], Bow [Range 12, +0 to Hit]

Total: +1 To Hit, OK 17, Def 13+1, 2 Wounds.

Hero Points: 1

Erik + Hargrim: Shieldwall

• Regular [+0 to hit, 10 Def, 1 Wound] Light [+1 Def] Infantry [+0 to hit, Def 10, Move 8, Charge 1d6+4]
• Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]
• Javelin  [6”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]
• Archer: Bow [12”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def].

Total: +0 to hit, OK 18, Def 11+1, 2 Wounds each.

Hero Points 1

Tullius: Shieldwall

• Veteran +1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds, Medium Armour [+2 Def, Move 7, Charge 1d6+2];
• Spear [Class 4, +0] and shield [+1 Def], with one of Sword [Class 3, +0], One-Handed axe [Class 2, +0];

Total: +1 To Hit OK 17, Def 13+1, 3 Wounds.

Household troops:

Mounted Housecarls

• Veteran [+1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds] Medium Cavalry [+3 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+6];
• Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit], Sword [Class 3, +0], Shield [+1 Def]

Total: +1 to hit, Def 15, 2 Wounds.

Household warriors [Shieldwall]

• Veteran +1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds, Medium Armour [+2 Def, Move 7, Charge 1d6+2];
• Spear [Class 4, +0] and shield [+1 Def], with one of Sword [Class 3, +0], One-Handed axe [Class 2, +0];

Total: +1 To Hit, Def 13+1, 2 Wounds.

Household Archer, Huntsman of the Earl

• Veteran +1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds, Light Armour [+1 Def, Move 8, Charge 1d6+4];
• Warbow [16”, +1 to Hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def];

Total: +2 to Hit with bow, +1 to hit with Axe, Def 13+1, 2 Wounds.

Average troops

Fyrdman [Shieldwall]

• Regular [+0 to hit, 10 Def, 1 Wound] Light [+1 Def] Infantry [+0 to hit, Def 10, Move 8, Charge 1d6+4]; Choose one line below for weapons:
• Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]
• Javelin  [6”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]
• Archer: Bow [12”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def].

Total: +0 to hit, Def 11+1, 1 Wound.

Low quality

Thralls/ Forced Levy

• Levy [-1 to hit, 9 Def, 1 Wound], Light [+1 Def] Infantry [+0 to hit, Def 10, Move 8, Charge 1d6+4]
• Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]
• Javelin [6”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def]

• Archer: Bow [12”, +0 to hit], Hand-Axe [Class 2, +0 to hit], Shield [+1 Def].

Total: -1 to hit, Def 10+1, 1 Wound.

Easterners:

Khan: Parthian Shot

Elite Medium Horse, +2 to Hit, Defense 15+1/ Shield; Wounds 3]

Sword [Class 3, +0 to hit, Outright Kill 16], Bow [Range 12, +0 to hit, Outright Kill 16], Shield;

Medium Horse - A mount may trample up to one soldier per turn. The attack is rolled following all weapon attacks with an attack modifier of +0, Outright Kill 18. The standard +1 charging modifier may be applied in the first turn of melee.

Total: Sword +2 to hit, OK 16, Def 16, 3 Wounds.

Khan’s warband: Parthian Shot

• Veteran [+1 to hit, 11 Def, 2 Wounds] Medium Horse [+3 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+6]
• Bow [12”, +0 to hit], Sword [Class 3, +0 to hit], Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit];

Total: +1 to hit, Def 14, 2 Wounds.

Common Horse archer: Parthian Shot

• Regular  [+0 to hit, 10 Def, 1 Wound] Light Horse [+2 Def, Move 14, Charge 1d6+9]
• Bow [12”, +0 to hit], Sword [Class 3, +0 to hit], Spear [Class 4, +0 to hit];

Total: +0 to hit, Def 13, 1 Wound.

Sorcerers

• Must be Regular rank [Rank 1] or higher, and have a Magic Skill, which they use to cast their spells. Each mage has 2 Spells +1 per level above Regular, and 1 Magic Point per Rank.
• Sorcerers gain +1 Wound.
• If a sorcerer is not wearing armor, it has Defense equal to their Quality+2. Any Mage can use their Magic Skill in melee as a Class 1 Attack with their ‘to hit’ bonus and Outright Kill number equal to their Skill.

Veteran Sorcerer – Sorcery 2, 2 Magic Points

• Magic Skill 3d6+2, Defense 13, Wounds 3.
• Spells: Choose 3
• Melee: Magical Attack, Class 1, +2 to hit, Outright Kill 17.

Serpent Folk:

• Serpent Folk are always sorcerers and have 1 bonus Magic Point with which to cast spells and rituals.
• As sorcerers, they gain +1 Wounds.
• Their scaly skin gives them +1 Defense.
• Serpent Folk have the equivalent of Dark Vision, but are not impaired if blinded.
• Serpent Folk are warped by their study of cosmic chaos. They have a chance equal to their Rank [whether they are sorcerers or not] on a d4 to have a chaotic feature.

Serpent Folk Veteran Sorcerer - Sorcery 2, 3 Magic Points

• Magic Skill 3d6+2, Defense 14, Wounds 3.
• Spells: Choose 3
• Melee: Magical Attack, Class 1, +2 to hit, Outright Kill 17.

Spells:

Blast – Range 18”. Make a Magic Roll against a target’s Def. If you succeed, you inflict a Wound. You Outright Kill on a 16.

Teleport – During the Movement Phase, take a Wound or succeed at a Magic roll vs. 12 to instantly move from one place to another on the battlefield, or to retreat from it entirely. If you choose the later, you cannot return during the scenario. If you spend your last wound teleporting from the battlefield, your death does not count against your side when determining Victory Points.

Lightning Bolt – Range 12”. You can summon lightning from a cloudless sky, rolling her Magic Skill vs. target Defense. Lightning does an Outright Kill on a 16 or higher [just as a +2 weapon] and you may attack a second target if you succeed with an Outright Kill.

Heal - Spend a Wound or Magic Point to Heal 1 Wound to self or another. No magic roll is required, but you must spend a move or attack action to do so. If you spent a Hero Point, you can cast this instantly to heal someone who would die from the Wound, yourself included.

Countermagic - Negate an enemy spell targeting you. This spell may cast immediately as a response action. You must still make a Magic roll vs. 10 + the level of the enemy spellcaster.

Dispel Magic - Dispel a spell within range on a Magic roll of 12 or higher.

Evil Eye – Curses a single target, within 18 inches, with self-doubt. Roll Magic Skill vs. the Target’s Defense. If roll is equal to or greater than Defense, the target is -1 to hit and -1 Wound. If roll fails, suffers the same fate yourself OR loses the ability to cast Evil Eye for the rest of the battle [player’s choice].

Cloak of Feathers – Transform into a raven spirit for a turn, traveling by air and immune to damage. Move is equal to Magic Roll and can be in any direction, unaffected by engagement or terrain. You may not attack or cast other spells on a turn you spend in raven form. You must land at the end of each turn, though the player may decide if you retains you raven form from one turn to the next. If you do, keep the same Magic Roll for your Move.

Paralysis – Take a Wound or Spend a Hero Point to Make a magic Roll against the Defense or [Level for a Spellcaster]. If you succeed, the target is unable to act physically until the player succeeds on a Morale roll vs. Difficulty 12 [Add bonus for Rank of figure]. 

Protection – Take a Wound or spend a Hero Point to roll Magic Skill, improving your Defense By 1 for every full increment of 5 on the roll. If you are wounded thereafter, your Defense returns to normal.

Strength of the Pack – Vald can attempt to heal someone within 12” of his location. Roll Magic Skill [-1 per turn since the figure was taken out]: 10-13 heals one Wound, 14+, heals 2 Wounds. The figure cannot heal more wounds than it had.

Howl – Summon one or more wolves, which appear in the nearest woods area to the caster, acting immediately and thereafter on the caster’s activation. Caster suffers 1 unhealable Wound automatically when casting this spell. Vald may not command more than 4 wolves at any given time. If he is taken out, the wolves flee for the forest. For each full 5 on his roll, one wolf appears. Wolves are +1 to hit, do not Outright Kill, Defense 12, Wound 1. They move 14, Charge for 2d6 + 2. Summoned creatures do not count against the caster’s side as casualties.

Wall – Create a temporary wall of 1 inch x1 inch segments equal to your Rank x3. Arrange them as you see fit in a continuous line. They are a Linear Obstacle [-3 to Move, and No charges over it] cannot be shot over unless to or from elevation, and Provide Hard Cover [+2 Defense] to any troops sheltered behind it. [See Cover]

Notes:

• Changed Move and Charge for all troop types.
• Use Missile weapons stats below.
• Mounted bowmen do not shoot at -1 to hit.
• Pole-Axe and Great Axe are Class 3, +2 to hit.
• Longsword is Class 3, +1 to hit, and can be used sword and shield at +0 to hit.
• Magic weapons give + to hit, improve OK [Outright Kill].
• Skillful weapons give + to hit, no OK mod.

Weapon                      Range             Attack                         Notes/ Options

• Bow                  12        + 0/ -2              May fire up to 2/turn
• Crossbow         14"      + 2/ -2              Move to Load
• Handgun           8"        + 0/ -2              Armor/ Shields count half. Full turn to load
• Sling                 10"      + 1/ -1              May shoot up to 2/ turn, lead shot, shield
• Staff Sling        12”      + 1/ -2              May hurl special ammunition
• Longbow          16"      + 1/ -2              May shoot up to 2/ turn**
• Javelin              6”        + 0/ -1              May shoot up to 2 / turn
• Spear/ axe        6"        + 1/ -2             +2 to hit while charging or when charged
• Dagger             6"        - 1                    No long range
• Improvised        6”        - 1                    No long range

Shooting Weapons: Can shoot at Long Range using the second Attack Modifier, which extends another 12 inches beyond the listed range.

Thrown Weapons: Javelins, spears and axes can be thrown up to double the short range at the listed modifier.

Bow: Composite or self bow of moderate power, used on foot or mounted. Mounted shooting reduces close range to 8”.

Crossbow: Heavy crossbows requiring a goat’s foot or similar. May be shot from the saddle, but reloading requires a Move Action, and short range is 8”.

Handgun: Simple medieval handgonne with a touch hole and match, firing a heavy ball. Armor and shields, even pavises or other light field protection like hoarding, counts half defense modifiers, rounding down[example, Heavy horse with shield count only +2 Defense]. Handguns take a full turn to load.

Sling: A simple device, easily carried or concealed. If available, lead shot  are +1/+0. Would be in limited supply. A slinger may count a shield while slinging.

Staff Sling: A sling on a staff. If available, special ammunition, like lead shot [+2/ -1], or flammables [+1/ -2, but set on fire]. These would be in limited supply.

Longbow: Heavy warbow. May be used mounted, but no fast [2 per turn] shooting.

Javelin: Light Thrown darts or spears for throwing, too light to use in melee. May be used on foot or on horseback.

Spear/Axe: These may be used in melee or thrown. When thrown while charging, or when immediately before a charge, they Attack bonus is +2 instead of the normal +1.

Dagger: No long-range throw possible.

Improvised: Hurled enemy heads, good-sized rocks, etc. No long-range throw possible.

Outright Kills:

Outright Kill number is equal to 18, minus the To Hit bonus for the weapon. So a two-handed axe would OK on a 16. Note that this is the number that must be rolled on the dice, NOT the total roll. So a roll of 5,4,5 on 2d6 equals 14. With the +2 to hit for a two-handed axe this would hit Def 16, but would not Outright Kill because the roll total was only 14.

Charging, Magic, Skill ranks reduce the OK further. So an elite two-handed axeman charging with a magic +1 axe would OK on a 12 or higher on the 3d6 roll 18 - 2 [Axe] -1 [Charging] -3 [Elite] -1 [Magic].

Cover: In addition to Cover as written [p. 18]:

Complete Cover – A solid, uninterrupted wall or similar, cannot be fought over or pierced by normal means, anything on opposite sides can only interact via openings like doors, arrow slits etc; – refer to Siegecraft.

Soft or Low Cover - provides +1 Def.

Hard or High Cover - provides +2 Def and applies fully against handguns.

Arrow Slit – Or equivalent, provides +3 Def.

Hunker Down: Troops can elect to Hunker Down, giving up any action to double their cover bonus.

Sheltered: Troops next to cover can benefit from its Defense bonus and shoot. If troops are within 1 inch of cover they can ignore it for their own shooting.

Hero Points – You can spend a Hero Point to:

• Negate a Wound to self or other within 1 inch 
• Power a Spell in place of a Magic Point or Wound
• Increase the dice roll by +1 to hit and for OK purposes
• Reroll
• Defend – Give up attack for +2 Def.

Some troops have a special maneuver listed in their profile.

Shieldwall: Infantry equipped with Shields can choose to not move and form a shield wall. At least four shield-bearers are required, and each model must stand base-to-base with its neighbor. Each member of the shield wall gains an extra bonus of +1 to its Defense against both melee and missile weapons. If the soldiers move or fall below four in number then the shield wall bonus is lost. Other models, such as archers, may shelter behind a shield wall by moving into base contact. There must be at least one shieldman per sheltered troop.

Parthian Shot: Mounted archers with this ability can shoot in any direction, even while moving directly away from the enemy.

Check back here, because I will update this post, and write occasional Ragnarok! things as times goes by too.