Watch Well Games: Issue #42
Episode 4 Analysis for Record of Lodoss War and interview with Dunderdagar.
Welcome to our RPG community newsletter!
Hi, I’m K.J. Today
joins us again, analyzing episode 4 for Record of Lodoss War. Also, I interviewed Jorgen Karlson of .🗣️ Want to connect more with community? I post Notes every 3-4 days to bring us together and share ideas. I hope you’ll join in the conversation.
✏️Wrote: Record of Lodoss War - Episode Analysis, Part 4
Special guest writer CJ Weigel
Episode 4: The Grey Witch
From Wikipedia:
Unable to enter Alan, the capital of Alania, the group is informed that Alania will not resist Marmo but will not become its slaves. When Lodoss hears of the invasion, King Fahn of Valis dispatches his own daughter, Princess Fianna, to establish an alliance with Alania to oppose Beld. Meanwhile Karla decides to intercept the princess on behalf of Beld. The group decide to go straight to Valis via the Forest Of No Return to save time. Deedlit protects the group during their passage through but Woodchuck, Ghim and Parn are almost killed after seeing hallucinations including one where Ghim sees Leylia and tries to follow her. The group manage to make it to the other side and Ghim tells the group about his task to find Leylia. They chance upon the princess' carriage under attack by Karla's magic. Ghim identifies Karla as Leylia and due to her respect of the group's courage, she releases Princess Fannia before disappearing. Beld remembers Fahn actions from 30 years ago and swears that Valis is next. The episode ends with the dragon Narse calling out to Wagnard who thinks it is Kardis herself causing his powers to flare up.
Welcome back to another episode of Lodoss, where we get to see more cool things happen as a result of PC failure! This episode is a great reminder for GMs that failure to succeed is not, and should not be, failure to progress.
In our opening scene, the party is denied at the gates of the capital of Alania. They’re informed by the guards that Alania has no intention of resisting the Marmo forces; this is a stroke of genius for the game master, considering what happened last session; after befriending Alanian forces, then watching them get slaughtered and their fortress razed, my players would be seething at this decision by King Kannon of Alania.
After that brief diversion, we get parallel scenes: King Fahn of Valis sends his daughter, Princess Fiana, to secure an alliance with Alania, while the part starts traveling towards Valis to offer their services in the war. Both groups must travel through the Forest of No Return to reach their destination quickly. The Princess is attacked by the Gray Witch, while Deedlit opens a path through the Faerie Realm to expedite their passage through the Forest.
Deedlit warns the part that negative emotions will cause the forest to lash out; that sort of effect can be difficult to pull off in-game, but very rewarding for the GM and the players! If you’re able to tie a mechanical, in-world effect to the narrative background of your player characters, it can be really exciting! Another fun mechanic in this scene is the passage of time; Deedlit explains that time passes more slowly in the Forest than the outside world. A location in the Gloaming from Cursed Scroll #1 uses a similar mechanic, and my party had a blast trying to use it to their advantage.
Naturally, the party can’t hold back their negative emotions while in the fae realm and are ejected back into the mortal realm. We get a chance to explore different character motivations through this scene, with Parn seeing his father, Woodchuck seeing piles of gold dust, and Ghim sees Leylia. Personally, I would probably run this as a skill challenge to progress through the woods, and ask the players to share a desire that would tempt their characters after each failed roll. After our players get to safety, we see them recovering beside a river and processing what they experienced.
The final encounter of the episode shows our heroes drawn by the nearby sounds of combat - a great reminder to GMs to keep the action rolling - and finally ending up face to face with the Grey Witch, who is kidnapping the princess. Ghim recognizes her as Leylia, tying his background into the greater narrative, and although the party is dramatically outclassed, the Witch acknowledges their valor and releases the princess to their care. I love this scene, because it starts introducing complexity and depth to the antagonist; what motivates her, that she would give up her prize out of respect for the heroes?
Our closing scene, which I would present to the players as a cutscene in game, shows the fall of Alania before the Marmo forces. Emperor Beld reveals a rivalry with King Fahn, which more closely links the party’s objective with the greater narrative, and we get a hint at an even greater threat: Wagnard is suffused with power from the dark dragon we saw earlier in the series, establishing a third antagonistic faction. We now have the enigmatic Grey Witch, the forces of Marmo led by Beld and Ashram, and a mysterious new force with inscrutable designs.
Most of the lessons I pulled from this episode feel obvious on the surface, but are easy to forget while in the trenches. Check out my free Patreon adventure to see how I implement these in a point crawl!
As in Episode 1, allow failure to progress the story. If the party fails to take the shortcut, then they can stumble upon an interesting side quest; if they fail to convince a key NPC to help them, they should have a clear idea of who else to ask.
While world-building, place commonly known, well-established dangers between key locations. As a general rule, I place one long-but-safe path between major locations, and one short-but-dangerous path (and sometimes one secret, quick, and REALLY dangerous path). This gives your players more agency in how they interact with your world, and sets you up to offer time-sensitive quests.
Give the PCs an opportunity to explore their backstories in-game. I’m reminded of the puzzle “The Sadness of Youm” in Sanctuary of Belches; in it, the PCs must each name the thing they love the most to overcome a trap. It’s a fun way to get the players thinking about their characters and applying their ideas in-game, instead of just on paper.
🎨 Creating: Moments of Mirth: Vol. 3
I’m slowly working on Moments of Mirth: Vol. 3 - The Janky Dragon Inn, a Dragonbane supplement. I’m taking my time on this because I’ve decided to do a lot of artwork for it. I’m not a professionally trained artist - drawing was just one of the few things I used to love doing, and I’ve only recently returned to…the drawing board (ba-dum-tiss 🥁). If I’m feeling up to it, I may do some bonus drawings for the previous two Moments of Mirth volumes, which you can find on DTRPG here and here.
🎲 Did: Interviewed Jörgen Karlsson of Dunderdagar
Recently I interviewed Jörgen Karlsson of Dunderdagar. Enjoy!
K.J.: DET KRYPANDE MÖRKRET (the Swedish version of the adventure The Creeping Darkness) won Gold for Best Third-Party Product at the Fenix Awards during GothCon 2024 some months ago. How did it feel to win?
Jörgen: I actually didn't even know that The Creeping Darkness was nominated - then someone told me that it had won. I knew about the Fenix Awards but living in the far north of Sweden what happens in "the south" often just passes unnoticed. Of course, I was happy to win (who wouldn't be?). The most important thing this victory did was give me the feeling that there really is a larger community out there that likes and appreciates what you do.
K.J.: Tell me about your very first RPG creation. What was it? Has it gotten easier to create and publish materials since then?
Jörgen: Oh boy, we have to go way back to the best year in history, and by that I mean the golden year of 1984. It was actually in school when I was introduced to roleplaying games. A couple of my classmates had created a really simple RPG using only the D6 die. After killing my first orc, I was hooked and began to create my own stuff. That Christmas I got the Dragonbane RPG from Santa Claus and that took everything to a whole new level. Unfortunately, I can't remember what the first thing I created was, but I still have a Bestiary from 1984 so it must have been one of the first. Creating things has always been easy and fun. Publishing stuff - not so much before the internet. I had a blog (it still exists today) called Medusa Games where you can find stuff from the early 2000s mostly about the Riotminds version of Dragonbane.
K.J.: You make a lot of RPG material that may remind many fans of retro or vintage Swedish RPGs. It's beautiful and clean. Is it easy to meet expectations fans might have, or does it ever feel stressful or challenging?
Jörgen: I take inspiration from the masters of old, but I try to put my own spin on my creations. The Creeping Darkness was a blend of old and new - “the RPGs of the 1980s for the players of the 2020s” one might say. When it comes to what the fans want, I try not to listen too much. Of course, I take suggestions and criticism to heart, but I feel that a creator can only do their best when they are creating for themselves. There is a formula to doing good "art", but a good creator must know when to break the mold and go their own way.
As a bonus, Jörgen made in this bestiary (pictured above) in 1984-1985. He says these are "creatures from my 10-year-old self. They are called: 1. The Oxfin - 2. The Monster of Love - 3. The Gossnos - 4. The Båvsloklok."
K.J.: When did you know you wanted to write RPG material?
Jörgen: I have always liked creating stuff, like magazines, mixtapes, short films and what have you. RPG material was always in the mix, but sometimes life takes unexpected turns. I did my military service, got a job, and began to play American football, so for many years, my creative side was dormant. Then Kickstarter became a thing, and I started making a comic book called Karl Kämpe the Adventurer, building on an unpublished book I had written. After that, Free League opened up Dragonbane for third-party creators. I think many role-players want to create and publish their own adventures and modules, and finally here was the chance to fulfill a childhood dream. I decided to try, and with such a successful start I see no reason to stop.
K.J.: You travel back in time to talk to a younger version of yourself. How young are you, and what encouragement or advice do you give your younger self?
Jörgen: I'm 50 years young. If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self that you always must be ready to walk away. If you can't say no and live with the consequences, you will never be truly free.
K.J.: You write and create more than just RPG material. Which publication or creation of yours is your favorite or the one you're most pleased with? Why?
Jörgen: Very hard to tell. There are always details in everything I do that I really love. But the Dragonbane adventure The Creeping Darkness has a special place in my heart.
K.J.: Do you have a future Dragonbane project you can share hints or teasers about?
Jörgen: I have a lot of projects in the pipeline. First I have a shorter adventure called The Ghost of Brickpile Castle (out now!). It has a classical fantasy setting. A ghost is terrorizing the lord of a castle, and he needs help to get rid of it. After that, a longer adventure called The Godwolf from the Crooked Mountains will be produced. This is more of a Viking adventure where an evil warlord, who controls a gigantic wolf, is threatening to put a whole country to the sword. I also have a Bestiary and a Setting book in the works. But the thing I really look forward to doing is something I call Dragonbane in Africa. I don't know if I ever get around to this but I would love to sink my teeth into this.
K.J.: What other RPGs have you created content for?
Jörgen: Unofficially - too many to recall. Officially - I have written adventures for En Garde, Fantasy - Old School Gaming, and Swedish Cults.
K.J.: What other hobbies do you enjoy aside from RPGs?
Jörgen: Besides watching sports, movies, and TV, I like reading comic books, following American politics (what a circus), and playing tabletop games with my friends.
Connect and check out Dunderdagar’s content (comics, games, and newsletters) here:
That’s a wrap. Thanks for reading Watch Well Games.
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