The art for Rune and Steel was what first caught my eye. When I read the campaign page, the concepts sounded interesting enough that I wanted to learn more. The father and son creators, Ryan and Kael Shuck, were kind enough to talk about the system that they’re using, what inspired them, and Yule.
EGG EMBRY (EGG): For those reading this at home, I’m sending these questions right before Christmas week, so thanks for taking time to answer them. What is the Kickstarter for Rune and Steel developing?
RYAN SHUCK (RYAN): Happy Yule Tide and we appreciate you reaching out to us on our project! For the Kickstarter, we are mostly finished with the rules, but we are going to fine-tune the layout a bit as well as pay our fine artist, Martin Sobr, for art inside the book as well as boxes, dice etc. to ship to our backers. In addition, we have quite a bit of world building to complete.
KAEL SHUCK (KAEL): I’ll second that, Merry Christmas and Happy Yule! I’d like to add in that our Kickstarter is primarily for polish. We wanted to separate ourselves from many early access or proof of concept games by having a fully developed and tested system before we crowdfunded. Many years later, the Rune and Steel Rulebook is completed minus a few minor adjustments.
EGG: Is this RPG historic fantasy set in Scandinavia or a fantasy world inspired by Vikings?
RYAN: Kael and I debated back and forth quite a while about using the real world or a Norse inspired world. For creativity sake we felt it was best if we didn’t trample on history too much and decided to create the world of Norðr as a mirror to the real world.
KAEL: After reading the sagas we came to the conclusion that many were either “incomplete” or left room for interpretation. Norðr is our fantasy world where we give an expanded version of the sagas and selectively use the historical events we find interesting. As an Easter egg to your readers, the major conflict in Norðr echoes events that started roughly 20 years before the Viking Age began.
EGG: This uses an original system, correct? What can you share about how combat works? How deadly is the game?
RYAN: It does use an original system. In short, you roll a set of dice (1 novice to 10 grandmaster) with each dice looking for a success number (normally 6) to pass/fail against a Difficulty Check (number of ‘pass’ dice) to succeed. We have open-ended dice allowing for anything to be possible if improbable making for some fun times at the table.
Regarding Combat: Our combat can be deadly, however we have Fate Dice (auto-success dice earned through good roleplay) to help with that as well as our armor and shields actually work! Round to round players have offensive and defensive options as well instead of statically hoping they don’t get hit.
KAEL: For some further insight into our combat, our priority was that it flowed well while remaining historically plausible. We also wanted to add more player skill than is traditionally seen in TTRPGs. To accomplish this, we have a few easy to learn, but hard to master mechanics (e.g. offensive abilities, defensive abilities, a parry event chart, etc) that provide tactics without bogging the game down.
How deadly is the game? … As a unique side-effect of our game’s deadliness we added a “Hugr” (ghost) mechanic for players if their character dies.
EGG: How does the magic system work?
RYAN: We took the Norse approach of reciprocity to magic. It is very powerful even if at times subtle. The magic system is all about risk versus reward where you can even overcast spells above your skill. But nothing comes without a price and some of that price is paid the moment you dedicate your character to the path of the seiðr (sorcerer) or vitki (rune master). Sacrifice is a huge part of the theme and we have a corruption system called “Wyrd Rating” which builds as you use magic to bend Fate.
KAEL: We have two kinds of magic/spell-casters in our game. Aspect magic is used by our aforementioned seiðr and runic magic is used by our vitki. For a rule of thumb, aspect magic is more potent but more costly and runic magic is quicker and less costly but less impactful. The game’s philosophy with magic is that it alters the threads of Fate weaved by the Norns and causes “Wyrding.” As an aside, GMs of Rune and Steel should take some solace in knowing that a lot of our spells were built with subtlety in mind. Mentalism (very subtle magic) is likely to be one of the more powerful schools of magic but we’ll see how the meta plays out.
EGG: The rules include an option for diplomacy, how does it work in your RPG?
RYAN: First, we have a social initiative system wherein a party leader is designated by their Social Class plus Influence skill (add them together and you get “Poise”). The highest Poise is the party leader and final vote on table disputes and may designate someone to be a “speaker” for in-depth Influence checks. Second, we have a simple roleplay plus roll system for basic checks or for major social encounters a GM or player may call for an Advanced Influence Check where the whole party may participate providing relevant facts and lore, make assisted pleas allowing each person to have the floor or pass before a final roll is made against the person/group you are trying to persuade.
KAEL: Diplomacy mirrors the rest of our game by being a skill check vs DC or skill check vs skill check with degrees of success/failure. Our design on the Diplomacy chart is more minimalist to facilitate conversation and roleplay. We tried a more rules heavy diplomacy system and found it interfered with the pacing of conversation.
EGG: What inspired you to create this game and system?
RYAN: My sons, Kael and Conner, both liked d20 when I introduced them to it as kids, but they wanted more “action” in the combat particularly as Kael got involved with HEMA and had a history based teacher in Doctor Swinney. It started as a d20 mod, but we eventually decided the only way to get the game as we wanted was to write it from the ground up. Six plus years later and here we are!
KAEL: My inspiration started after playing a Viking themed d20 session that was less than ideal. My Dad was convinced that we could make a d20 modification to make it more playable. Six years and one completely new tabletop RPG later…
EGG: You’re a father and son creative team combined with an artist. What made Martin Sobr the right artist for this project?
RYAN: I’ll defer to Kael on this as he found Martin in the cyber universe, but I can’t say enough about his art, easy going manner and work ethic. He’s a terrific talent that has done many major projects, but has always taken time for the “little guys” which we definitely are.
KAEL: I’m going to start by admitting that I am incredibly particular about art. I spent two weeks searching for an artist that I thought would fit our game and I finally found Martin’s profile on BoardGameGeeks. His picture of “The Revenant” scene with Hugh Glass and the bear fit the heart of Rune and Steel – wild, vicious, and legendary. Martin also agreed to be our illustrator and so I was sold from day one. I think it’s fair to say that Martin ended up being a great choice and his art work for the project has been nothing short of awesome. I’m hoping we get to see a rulebook with more of his artwork on the inside!
EGG: While this interview will go live well after Christmas, what special gift did you give all of the backers of your Kickstarter for the holiday?
RYAN: Krampus and his “helpers” were Limited Time monsters that slid down the chimney and were only available for download from our discord.
KAEL: As this will be posted after Christmas all of our backers before January 1st will receive Krampus as an additional monster (not found in the rulebook).
EGG: Beyond Rune and Steel, what else are you working on?
RYAN: I wrote a book about seven years ago called Fury of the Northmen (on Amazon) that at some point will need a sequel, but right now I’m trying my hand at raising adorable Babydoll Southdown sheep and chickens and just trying to make sure that the content in Rune & Steel is as top notch as we can make it.
KAEL: I’m focused on finishing my degree in IT: Software Development and I’ll be designing video games as well before too long.
EGG: Thanks for taking time away from your holiday to talk to me. For fans interested in learning more about your work, where can they follow you?
RYAN and KAEL: Twitter, Parler@Runeandsteeldevs, Discord, or email runeandsteeldevs@gmail.com.
Rune and Steel from R&S_Developers
End Date: Fri, January 29 2021 6:15 PM EST.
“Rune and Steel is a Norse inspired tabletop RPG. Row with us to the realm of Norðr where you too can experience the Norse sagas!”
Egg Embry participates in the OneBookShelf Affiliate Program and is an Amazon Associate. These programs provide advertising fees by linking to DriveThruRPG and Amazon.
Latest posts by Egg Embry (see all)
- New Gamemaster Month 2023 - January 20, 2023
