Bodil's Gap Playbooks: The Óttimaðr

On the edge of the storm-tossed sea, a warrior hefts his sword in the face of a horde of brine-soaked corpses surging out of the waves to stagger onto the beach, pitted iron weapons still clutched in their waterlogged hands. Channeling the strength of a giant's footfall into his blow, he strike the earth, and the beach heaves as the earth trembles, hurling draugar from their feet like discarded dolls...

In the mouth of a high mountain pass, the thunderous crack of falling ice sounds above the howling of the wind as a torrent of snow and debris avalanches down towards a slow-moving wagon train. At the head of the procession, a bent old woman with skin tinged an icy blue raises her arms and calls on the power of the Primordial Realm of Ice. Before her outstretched hands, the avalanche parts, flowing past the wagon train with a handspan to spare on either side...

Feet tearing at the blood-slicked grass, two rivals clash as other warriors battle on all around them. One cries out as the other's sword pierces his side, his hand coming up to grip the blade even as it cuts into his fingers and scrapes upon his ribs. His eyes blaze with the flames of the Primordial Realm of Fire, and under his hand his rival's sword begins to glow an angry red, the iron deforming in the heat of his grip...

In the shadow of an ancient barrow, a thick stone door bars passage down to the burial chamber where an ancient jarl was entombed with all his wealth and treasures. Hand pressed against the immovable stone, a young woman slips closer to the Realm of the Dead, her flesh turning to grey mist, and she passes through the door as though it were never there, descending into the hillside as silent and insubstantial as a ghost...

The Óttimaðr

Before any other living creature appeared beneath the branches of the World Tree, the giants were there. Children of the Primordial Realms of Fire and Ice, and heirs to the chaotic power of raw, unshaped creation, they were the masters of óttimáttr, sorcery that channels the power that churns in the realms beyond the Mortal World.

Giants are not the only practitioners of this grim art, however. Whether through service under a giant master, terrible research, or incautious exposure to the power of other realms, sometimes a mortal man or woman may find the secrets of óttimáttr within their grasp. An Óttimaðr must be cautious, however, for the use of these powers risks drawing the attention of the Jotnar who dwell in the realms beyond the Mortal World, and their scrutiny is a heavy weight for a mere mortal to bear.

The Power of the Realms Beyond

The powers of an Óttimaðr can vary widely based on the particular Primordial Realm from which they draw their magic. One with a link to the Realm of Fire is the master of scorching flames, blazing heat, smoke and ash, and molten rock and metal; while one connected to the Realm of Ice has at their command all the sleet, ice, snow, and freezing fog of winter. Stranger still are those whose powers are drawn from the Realm of the Dead, for their magic manifests itself in stone and bone, dust and grave dirt, and creeping putrefaction.

With the powers of primordial chaos in their grasp, an Óttimaðr can wield weapons of fire, ice, or bone conjured from nothing; shape walls and barriers of elemental matter; go unscathed into raging flames, freezing waters, or places of sickness and rot; and even manifest the landscape of their realm upon the face of the Mortal World. They can melt metal at a touch and vomit forth sulfurous smoke to choke the lungs and sting the eyes of their enemies, vanish into a swirl of snow like a phantom and imprison any foe they touch in a block of ice, or unleash plague and rot with upon their foes' flesh with every stroke of their weapons. Any way the raw stuff of the elements may be made useful, an Óttimaðr has open to them.

The Strength of the Giants

Alongside the sorcerous powers of the raw elements, an Óttimaðr is also able to channel the physical strength and endurance of the giants themselves. Giantish vitality flows in their veins, and they can draw on it to strengthen their limbs, quicken their thoughts, and project the force of their personality out from them. They can harden their skin to the toughness of a giant's hide, turning aside blows with their bare flesh as though it were armour, and they can surge with the physical power of a titan at a whim. In the most obvious expression of this power, they can even grow to a giant's stature themselves, towering over trees and longhouses at the height of their momentary transformation.

Using the Óttimaðr

This playbook is intended for spell-casters who wish to pursue a high-risk, high-reward style of magic that compliments direct physical action. Unlike other playbooks, however, I'm not sure this one can be summed up in a single image, nor does it have any direct analogues in the core playbooks of Dungeon World. It owes some inspiration to both the sorcerer and the warlock of other rpgs, and should be used in a similar context, to represent a spell-caster whose magic is either a dangerous bargain, a strange birthright, or some kind of metaphysical affliction. If it has any spokesperson, perhaps it is the shapeshifter Loki, wielding magic tricks and his giantish nature on a variety of adventures with his friend, the god Thor—at least before things went sour...

Bodil's Gap is currently in playtesting, and the playtesting version of the Óttimaðr playbook can be found here. If you have any insight or feedback, leave a comment or send an email to brazenhead@zoho.com.

Up Next

Next week I'll be talking about the Goði, a priest of one or more of the gods and goddesses of Bodil's Gap, and a leading or influence in the community.

Bodil's Gap Playbooks: The Skald

Standing before the city's gates, two armed men bar the way against a visitor in a colourful cloak. In a musical voice, the traveler commands them to stand aside—and for an instant they step back, stunned, just long enough for her to slip through the gates and away...

On the deck of a ship rolling over turbulent waters, a wizened old man dresses his captain in a cloak patterned like fish's scales and paints on his face, in blood, the famous scars of a legendary hero who swam to the bottom of the sea to fight a kraken. Taking a deep gulp of air, the captain fills his lungs with the inexhaustible breath of a legend, and plunges into the cold water...

Standing atop a rocky outcrop, a young woman looks out over the battle raging below. Fingers plucking at the silver strings of her harp, she raises her voice in the saga of a terrible storm that once swept the land. Overhead, the clouds twist and churn as the heavens mimic her story, wind sweeping the enemy's arrows from the sky as lightning strikes amidst their lines...

Hemmed in on both sides by foes, a man stands with his back against a tree, brandishing sword and shield. As the crash of sword against shield and the ringing of iron on iron merge into a steady cadence, he recites a line from the saga of a great battle, and the tip of his sword leaves an enemy's throat a gurgling ruin...

The Skald

Stories hold an intense power of their own. They are the currency of common culture, and the archetypes and narratives they contain have a great influence on the minds of mortal men and women. Their influence goes beyond that, however; told with enough skill and passion, a story can influence the world itself, moving earth and sky no less powerfully than a human listener. This is galdr, the magic of inspiration and narrative, and the art of the Skald.

Whether taught the secrets of music and poetry by a spirit or able to grasp such things through divine inspiration or long study, a Skald can speak a story and make it true merely by the act of speaking.

The Power of Legend

Core to a Skald's power is the recitation of legendary sagas. Although individual tales are infinite, each falls into a broad archetype—a saga of the wilderness, a saga of war... By reciting one of these, a Skald can invoke the events and circumstance of legend in the present. And as the recitation continues and the saga progresses from its opening lines to its climax, the power a Skald wields through it only grows, finally manifesting in a crescendo of its own before fading away.

By reciting a saga of war, a Skald can sharpen their allies' blades, strengthen their arms, or turn the strikes of their enemies into glancing blows. With a saga of fortitude and endurance, they can let their allies ignore exhaustion, wounds, poison, and disease. The saga of a great storm can whip the sky into a frenzy of wind, thunder, and lightning, while a saga of the wilderness can draw animals near, force trees to blossom and bear fruit in an instant, or reshape the land itself to the Skald's advantage.

Sagas are not the only invocation of legend a Skald has access to, however. By hanging the trappings of a past hero on someone, a Skald can grant that person a measure of that hero's power, and allow them to echo that hero's deeds. And by recognizing the shapes of stories as they encounter them, a Skald can learn a great deal about the people they meet merely by understanding what archetypes they embody—whether the proud rival, the doomed mentor, the tragic lover, or some other stock figure of the sagas.

The Silver Tongue of a Poet

Less overtly magical is a Skald's talent for music and poetry—a talent that makes a skilled Skald welcome almost anywhere, for poetry and music are the main forms of entertainment in Bodil's Gap. An artful recitation can bring life to a celebration and see a Skald showered in coins, while the promise of such can prove tempting to even the canniest negotiators.

A Skald is also a master of obscure lore, for their repertory of tales and sagas includes countless ancient legends and historical accounts. Their peerless grasp of riddles also grants them a knowledge of such obscure matters, and they can glean insights about any opponent with whom they match wits in a riddling contest.

Even outside the realms of poetry, a Skald's words carry the force of their will and the power of galdr. With a quick command, a Skald can set someone to motion before they have a chance to consider their actions, while a deception uttered with enough conviction will go totally unexamined so long as the Skald maintains it in their mind.

Using the Skald

This playbook is intended for spell-casters who wish to influence people and events both with their magic and with their words. If it can be summed up in a single image, that image is Egil Skallagrimsson reciting a poem before the King of Norway in exchange for his own freedom, and finding not only safety but fame and renown.

Although its greatest magics are overt, the Skald has a lot of subtle power and social influence. Use it instead of a playbook like the Bard to present a spell-caster whose magic depends on the power of narrative causality, and who has a story for every occasion.

Bodil's Gap is currently in playtesting, and the playtesting version of the Skald playbook can be found here. If you have any insight or feedback, leave a comment or send an email to brazenhead@zoho.com.

Up Next

Next week I'll be talking about the Óttimáðr, a sorcerer endowed with the dread power of the primordial giants, and burdened by their scrutiny.

Bodil's Gap Playbook: The Rúngaeti

Descending a winding tunnel beneath the earth, a warrior advances deeper into the trolls’ lair. Held before him, his drawn sword blazes with runes of smokeless flame and dazzling light, illuminating the path before him and sending rats and other vermin scuttling in fear.

On the shore of a raging river swollen with torrential rain, white water froths and spills over the banks to lap at the feet of a horse bearing a cloaked rider. Atop her horse, the woman speaks a rune of chilling cold, and her breath becomes a boreal wind that freezes the river’s surface into a glittering bridge of ice, allowing horse and rider to cross...

In the ruddy light of a blazing forge, a smith stamps the last rune into the hide of his creation. Shuddering to life, a horse with golden skin and iron hooves rises to its feet and awaits its creators’ command...

Under the open sky, a woman scatters runestones across the grass of the meadow, keen eyes flicking from sign to sign. Looking up, she makes prophecy for all present to hear, warning those gathered around of the coming danger...

The Rúngaeti

The letters of the gods, runes channel the pure power of the World Tree, each shaping that power into a single aspect and manifesting it into the mortal world. One who learns the runes can wield incredible power, and in Bodil’s Gap, the Rúngaeti is the true master of this art: rúnrista.

Rúnrista is a magic of hidden knowledge. Each rune is at once a secret that must be found and a riddle to be unraveled before an aspiring practitioner can make use of it, and the practice of rúnrista is both scholarly and contemplative. Once a rune has been mastered, however, a Rúngaeti can wield it to produce powerful effects related to its concept.

Mechanically, every rune is also a tag, and a Rúngaeti can apply the tags of runes they have learned to a variety of powers. Different Rúngaetir can have very different abilities based not only on what moves they take, but on what runes they choose to learn.

Write the World

By carving runes into wood, metal, bone, or stone, a Rúngaeti can permanently imbue objects with the power of those runes. With a rune inscribed on its blade, a sword can crackle with flames, grow to razor keenness, or gain an aura of supernatural dread. And with greater skill and power, a Rúngaeti can inscribe two or even three runes at a time, combing these or other effects to create a weapon of devastating power.

With a line of runes across the threshold, a doorway can become an impenetrable barrier to trolls, spirits, or simple brigands. And with greater skill, it can punish those forbidden who attempt to cross, lashing out with freezing cold or stunning force.

With runes upon its face, a standing stone can become a nexus of power, projecting the influence of your runes into the surrounding area in a variety of ways, bound only by the limits of the Rúngaeti's imagination and the runes they know.

Other runes can bring life to the lifeless. Inscribed on a well-made effigy, these runes grant living motion to inanimate creatures of stone or wood, turning statues into able servitors bound to the Rúngaeti's will.

Yet other runes may be traced temporarily in blood, salt, or oil for more fleeting effect. With a protective sign, armour can be made to turn aside blades, arrows, or hostile spells. And other objects can be made to briefly hold the power of a rune, ready to release it at the Rúngaeti's command or at a predetermined time or circumstance.

Pronounce Words of Power

Far more rarefied is the ability to speak a rune aloud to invoke its power. When threatened by danger, a skilled Rúngaeti can utter the name of a rune to banish or counteract effects related to that rune's domain. A rune of fire can quench flames, for example, while a rune of bindings can undo knots or loosen a serpent's coiled embrace.

And with a greater act of will, a Rúngaeti can imbue their breath with the power of a rune spoken aloud, turning their very words into a torrent of wind, a flash of blinding light, or a razor-edged blade.

Using the Rúngaeti

This playbook is intended for spell-casters who want to take a direct hand in conflict, rather than hanging back influencing events from the rear or the sidelines. If it can be summed up in a single image, that image is Gandalf brandishing the runed sword Glamdring in the hall of the Goblin King, his sword flashing with fearsome light.

With their power to enhance both their own arms and armour and those of their allies, or to lead dependable constructs into battle, the Rúngaeti is well suited to working on the front lines of any battle. Use it instead of or alongside playbooks like the Wizard or Paladin to present a spell-caster whose magic calls for foresight and preparation, but which can carry them into battle and out again unscathed.

Bodil's Gap is currently in playtesting, and the playtesting version of the Rúngaeti playbook can be found here. If you have any insight or feedback, leave a comment or send an email to brazenhead@zoho.com.

Up Next

Next week I'll be talking about the Skald, a warrior-poet able to invoke the power of the sagas they recite to mimic or reproduce legendary deeds and events.