Some of you might have heard about the Mydwandr Supplement License allowing you, the community, to publish your own content for the game, with great leeway to fill in its various (and by design) gray areas. But what you might not know is that it's already bearing delicious fruit with Wyrdwarden, a Solo Campaign Exemplar by newcomer Tim Fox.
Now as the name suggests, it's primarily designed for solo play. Create your heroes, roll to decide exactly where in the world they begin, and proceed through a series of adventures well in keeping with the spirit of the setting. Spanning enemy fortresses and remote villages in need of able assitance, it's more than just a module. It's an entire campaign that clearly understands the soul of Mydwandr. If you pine for solo play, this is a great start...
But here's the fun part. While ostensibly meant for solo play, it's useful for traditional referees as well, and with little to no additional effort. From a gazatteer's reckoning of the seasons (something not covered in the core rulebook) to random tables for everything from wilderness features to place (and character) names, among others in keeping with Mydwandr's unique linguistics, it's a ready made campaign reference in the style of the old days.
The adventures are speedily converted to traditional tabletop, with the aforementioned random tables filling in many a blank. Referees willing to put their own spin on things will find lots of space to do so, aided by the product's strong foundation. Setting the above aside, there's an abundance of original content in the form of new monsters (hazards), which might be worth the price. Insectoid Antwyrd? Check. Fungal Mycanoids? They're all here...
Now all of this is held together with a series of creative exercises to set the mood, a concept underutilized across the gaming hobby and most welcome here. Wyrdwandr comes in a digital version (a bargain at $4.99) or a spiral-bound printing in the style of old and easier to use in the heat of play. Mydwandr fans should definitely consider giving this a look...
I've told you elsewhere that I was really pleased to see this review. One thing that nobody has mentioned anywhere about my book is the small no AI logo on my cover. I don't usually dunk my head into any issue, but I am concerned about the future of artists and writers (not just in the gaming industry, but elsewhere) who will eventually lose work or the opportunity to share their genuine creative voice or expression with others as AI gets better at trying to outdo us.
ReplyDeleteGaming should be about what actual humans can create...
DeleteFor whatever reason when Mydwandr I looked over it briefly, made a character sheet, and then moved on, I liked it and was very much into the FKR type of play but my mind simply skipped on to the next thing. I just stumbled upon Hexed Press video and while playing in the background while hanging pictures in the office, I really started to understand and appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteGoing to have to look into this a little more....
Thanks for your comment Matt. I hope you can get a game going with Mydwandr. My Wyrdwarden book can either be played or mined for its tables and house rules for more ideas to game with. Good luck!
DeleteThanks Tim, it really is a great little game book!
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