Draft:Wolsung: Steam Pulp Fantasy

• Comment: Unless the quality of the sources improve dramatically this will never be acceptable Roger (Dodger67) (talk) 11:52, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

• Comment: This has been rejected 4 times, you need to consider whether or not this subject is going to meet notability guidelines. RadioFan (talk) 00:33, 7 July 2013 (UTC)

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Wolsung (RPG)

Wolsung: Steam Pulp Fantasy - Polish RPG (tabletop roleplaying) game published in 2009 by Kuźnia Gier. The setting of the game is steampunk fantasy, with elements of action and adventure genres. Wolsung has been strongly inspired by action movies and is supposed to evoke the feeling of high adventure, daring bravado and spectacular, cinematic action. The original Polish title of the game is “Wolsung: Magia Wieku Pary,” which literally translates to “Wolsung: Magic of the Steam Age.”

Setting

The world of Wolsung (called Urda) bears many similarities to real life geography and history. Continents, oceans and other geographical landmarks resemble our world, but are inhabited by fantastical races. The culture of Urda is also the reinterpretation of our cultural achievements. Nations and races are based on the stereotypical approach to their real-life counterparts. According to the authors, there are no racial distinctions, but rather national and class related ones. Most of the action takes place in Vanadia (equivalent of Europe) still trying to recover after the horrors of the Great War, during which a group of radical necromancers, known as the Undead Reich, led by the Wotanian liche/chancellor Ven Rier tried to conquer the world. Another important element of Wolsung is magic. It is a mix of conventional ritualistic magic, Victorian occultism, technology and more obscure “magic of emotions”, used by artists. The world’s technological advancement has been accelerated by combination of magic and science, creating many wondrous inventions and devices, like steam-powered automobiles or simple computers known as difference engines, powered by mana batteries. Player characters are already famous, when they begin the game. The player chooses between four archetypes, which represent the type of play preferred – Explorer, Daredevil, Socialite and Investigator. Besides attributes, merits and professions there are also achievements - certain heroic deeds, which the character performed. The number of achievements influences Fame, which is a major boon in most dice rolls.

Nations of Wolsung List of the nations of Vanadia and their equivalents:  Aquitain – a decadent country of artists, poets, absinthe and Revolution, based on the France of Moulin Rouge.  Alfheim – a colonial empire ruled by elven aristocracy, based on the Victorian Great Britain.  Bawentia – a peaceful, calm and idyllic country, equivalent of Belgium inhabited by halflings.  Silvanegro – a grim and dark realm, terrorized by vampires and werewolves. Inspired by Balkan Peninsula, with a strong presence of Transylvania.  Aeol – stereotypical Greece – land of the sea, mysterious islands and ancient history, where mythical creatures can still be encountered.  Hrimthorst – Nordic land of untamed wilderness, majestic fjords and Vikings – savage Scandinavia.  Jotunheim – Denmark, land of ruthless entrepreneurs and terrible secrets, haunted by ghosts of the Vikings.  Coriole – Spain of Don Kichot, passionate sultriness and taurridas (fights with minotaurs on the arena).  Morgovia – cold and dread Russia, ruled by a Tsar, who really is but a puppet in the hands of enigmatic Kostchei Bezsmertny (rumors say that he is really a liche, as evidenced by Morgovian tendency to use zombies as a source of cheap labor).  Pontifical – Vatican and northern Italy, center of worship for dualism, church state full of intrigues and plots.  Serenissima – Merchant Republic, ruthless, decadent flying city, inspired by Venice of spies and carnival.  Scylla and Charybdis – an insular country ruled by conflicting matriarchal halfling mafia, known as Scylla. Whole country is stylized after The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola.  Slavia – backward, underdeveloped Poland at the times of Interbellum. At its founding, the country has been cursed by a dragon, so now its every success is a failure in a way.  Trimonarchy: Ostria, Nordia, Sudria – respectively, Austria, Czech Republic and Hungary. The nation has been founded by three dwarven kings, and traditionally, all subordinate countries should remain in the monarchy. Sudria is the country of hot springs, Ostria of opera and intrigues, and Nordia of mystery and mysticism.  Westria – a neutral country inhabited mostly by dwarves, Switzerland of Alps, chocolate and reliable bankers.  Wotany – the most developed country of the world, inhabited mostly by dwarves and shamed by its dark past. Germany, which got over after losing the war.  Ys – A city-state of trade, gambling and perverse, forbidden pleasures. Libertine Netherlands, most importantly mysterious and dreadful Amsterdam.  Monastic State of Torburg Knights – based on Teutonic Knights, country inhabited by fanatical monks possessing very advanced technology, including steam-powered armors, and ruled by the self-aware difference engine, which is supposedly possessed by the Goddess. Also, there are other continents except of Vanadia, considered exotic and foreign by Vanadians:  Atlantis – mysterious, unexplored South America, inhabited by tribes which still offer human sacrifices to their dark gods. Also, secret bases of Undead Reich are hidden here.  Lemuria – wild and dark Africa, full of uncounted treasures and lost civilizations.  League Of Free Counties of Vinland – American Wild West right after the War of Independence.  Sunnir – alien and exotic Far East, mix of many Asian cultures.

Races of Wolsung Races are the combination of fantasy archetypes and real-life race and class stereotypes:  Elves – long-lived, physically beautiful and charismatic members of aristocracy, nobility and gentry. They are allergic to iron, which is their major weakness.  Gnomes – described as Jewish Vikings, dealing with crazy tinkering. They are usually an ethnic minority, disregarded by the majority and considered a strange and mysterious folk. They are also adept rune-forgers, golem-builders and worshippers of Unni (combination of Odin and Jehovah).  Dwarves – based on German stereotypes. Disciplined, coarse and technologically skilled miners and industrialists. They often use artificial limbs, sometimes taking it too far, ending up as insane mechanical monstrosities known as the uhrwerk. They are also allergic to sunlight.  Humans – very populous and wide-spread race, often travelling and present almost everywhere.  Halflings – Tolkien-esque halflings, who had to adapt to living in the new age as a lower class of factory workers and servants. For now they remain quiet, but they also foreshadow a future proletariat revolution. They also have very extensive families and larcenous demeanor, which explains the existence of crime syndicates composed of halflings.  Ogres – huge, simple-minded ape-like race. All of them are male, so they have to reproduce with other races – the boy born in the relationship will always be an ogre, while a girl will always be a member of the other race. They often fulfill the role of servants, but the progressing equality of rights slowly introduces them to social life.  Orcs – all types of immigrants, including stereotypical Asians, Turks, Gypsies and other minorities. They are deeply spiritual and Vanadians don’t trust them much, perceiving them as odd, mysterious strangers.  Trolls – very heroic warrior race, with a strong sense of honor. They have very short temper and are easy to infuriate. They are also cursed in a way, that every aging troll will eventually fall into primitive, destructive instincts and turn into a bestial, ravenous monster.

Mechanics

The game’s mechanics is based on dice, coins and playing cards, but is in fact very simple. Rolling dice is rare, as coins and cards are equally important – they both diversify gameplay and help activate certain special skills. Simplification, lack of complicated mathematical calculations and relatively little mechanical factors make the gameplay faster and smoother. This mechanic is an invention of the authors and is called „W”.

Official sourcebooks

Besides the core rulebook, a few sourcebooks developing the rules are available:  Operacja Wotan (Operation Wotan) – a ready-made campaign, presenting the plot of undead Ven Rier loyalists.  Lyonesse: Miasto, Mgła, Maszyna (Lyonesse: The City, The Fog, The Machine) – an expansion describing Lyonesse, Wolsung’s equivalent of London.  W Pustyni i w Puszczy (In Desert and Wilderness) – the description of Lemuria  Almanach Nadzwyczajny (Almanach extraordinaire) – a general collection of rules helping to develop the character.  Slawia: Rzeczpospolita Przeklęta (Slavia – Cursed Republic) – an expansion covering Slavia.

External links

- http://wolsung.pl/ (official Polish website) - http://www.veto2ed.pl/forum/viewforum.php?f=71 (official Polish forum) - http://rpg.polter.pl/Wolsung-Magia-Wieku-Pary-c20889 (Polish review) - http://agamemag.com/archives/2622 (English review)