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The Batman
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[Moved] Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Tue 14 Jul 2020, 05:19

Will there be normal Gothic elements and creatures in the game? Stuff like vampires, werewolves, ghosts, etc? Will the game cover Great Britain and Transylvania? I'm looking for a Hammer Horror-esque experience.
 
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Vader
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Tue 14 Jul 2020, 17:34

There are already at least werewolves and ghosts in the game.

IIRC, Hammer was mostly about the classic British Gothic literary horror stories, like Dracula and Frankenstein etc. I am sure Vaesen's system can be adapted to those kinds of stories as well, but the essence of Egerkrans's "world" is more about the specific Nordic (i.e. Swedish, really) folkloristic "horror" and mystery.

I would doubt Fria Ligan will go out of their way to specifically cater for classic Gothic Horror stories in Vaesen, either with creatures or the setting. The product is too deeply rooted in Egerkans's aretwork ... actually, that artwork is the very raison d'étre of the whole product. Expanding the game's world outside of the scope of that artwork would kind of defeat the whole point of the game.
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
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srdaine
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Tue 14 Jul 2020, 21:51

The book is based in Scandinavian folklore but there's a small section on how to adapt it to your region of choice. There are ghosts and werewolves but I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to tweak other vaesen to become vampires or else.
 
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The Batman
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Wed 15 Jul 2020, 01:08

Yeah, being from the United States, I am not very familiar with Scandinavian folklore, so I was taking a hard pass on this game but thought I'd ask about horror I'm more familiar with and would be more comfortable running. Call of Cthulhu 7e runs these kinds of games brilliantly, so I guess I'd be smart to stick with it for these needs.

Thanks all!
 
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Deep_Impact
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Wed 15 Jul 2020, 06:28

Just remember: System Matters.

CoC and the YZ-engine are quite different and will offer different experiences. CoC is more "railroaded" crunch, while Vaesen is more narrative. Just compare the character sheets. This might be more important than the monster collection.

Image

This shouldn´t value one over the other, it´s a matter of taste. If you want to have many people to be familiar with the system CoC would be the way to go. I think here in Germany it´s the second most played RPG. Personally I couldn´t understand that cause it made me loathe the whole horror genre 25 years ago. But Alien and Vaesen brought me back with a system that fits my needs much more.

Btw: take a look at Egerkrans 'The Undead':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcDXpQrOzaM

Image
 
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Vader
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Wed 15 Jul 2020, 09:53

Btw: take a look at Egerkrans 'The Undead':
.
Indeed! I wouldn't be at all surprised if Fria Ligan were to release a major expansion module for Vaesen based on this book at some point, or even an entirely separate game.

But for the horror genre, CoC isn't a bad choice ... one of the very best in many ways, actually (wouldn't say its narrative is more railroaded ... rather, I'd say its system provides more depth). Not sure it really fits the "Hammer-esque" bill, though. For that kind of stories, one might want to look at KULT perhaps ... or why not good ol' Chill?
Before you use the word "XENOMORPH" again, you should read this article through:

https://www.wired.co.uk/article/aliens-throwaway-line-confusion
 
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Ebrim
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Wed 15 Jul 2020, 16:24

I fully intend to run at least a couple Vaesen mysteries using some New England folklore so there’s no reason you couldn’t and Vaesen does offer some guidance on this. You shouldn’t feel constrained to the Mythic North but that’s certainly what the game offers most easily.

It’s about folkloric horror in the changing world of the 19th century, it just draws on Vaesen most heavily for its prime inspiration.
 
lotharius
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Sun 09 Aug 2020, 17:56

Btw: take a look at Egerkrans 'The Undead':
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcDXpQrOzaM


excellent, thank you for bringing this book to light

Lotharius
 
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The Batman
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Thu 16 Sep 2021, 00:35

Anyone know where I can buy Egerkrans 'The Undead'?
 
Jack Ketch
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Re: Will there be normal Gothic elements?

Thu 16 Sep 2021, 23:26

https://www.amazon.com/Undead-Johan-Ege ... 9132208014

I have a copy. It's not as polished as the Vaesen art book, and I really don't think it's worth $80 - but there you go.

But to answer your first question, I've found Vaesen to be positively dripping with Gothic elements, just not your archetypal Count Dracula or Graf Orlock. Vampires are in the core book, though - Revenants (aka Draugr) and Mare are both variations of the classic bloodsucker. Also, there is a section in the book about creating your own beasties.

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