"Nine rings, nine taxes, nine courts. Volsprung survives because its rules are carved in ice and blood."
Scenario Overview
Sessions
3-4 (12-16 hours)
Focus
Politics, bastion building, intrigue
Structure
Node-based investigation + faction clocks
Stakes
Who rules Volsprung, where the bastion stands, how the Æsir react
Volsprung and Environs
Political center, landing points, and routes outward to giants or the gods.
Click on a location to explore
The Three Paths to Power
The Jarl Line
Support the official heir or reveal Nilfsvol. Stable but watched by the Æsir.
The Reformer Ring
Back Nojut and the thralls. Gains popular support; risks civil unrest and Valkyrie reprisal.
The Quiet Coup
Install a puppet ring-lord using Count debt or assassin intrigue. Fast, fragile, very fun for murderhobos.
Faction Play
Leads: Nojut the Priest, artisan guilds, thrall uprisings.
Promises equality; needs muscle. Offers supply chains and street eyes.
Investigation Nodes (Use the Three Clue Rule)
Ring Markets
Follow coin, rumors, and smuggled rune shards.
- Counterfeit god-marks hint at Valkyrie harvesting.
- Guild ledger shows missing taxes paid to a hidden shrine.
- Cartographer sells a map to a sealed Ninth Ring vault.
Temple of the Æsir
Expose the gods as parasites without starting a riot.
- Find offerings that never decay (evidence of siphoning).
- Intercept a Valkyrie collection flight schedule.
- Decode a sermon that is actually a command word from Odin.
Jarl's Hall
The dying Jarl is petrifying. His choice of heir is rigged.
- Steal or forge the succession writ.
- Convince Nilfsvol to reveal his lineage.
- Heal the Jarl partially to win a boon but provoke the Æsir.
Clocks and Fallout
Riot Pressure (6)
Unmet needs, heavy taxes, or executions fill this. At 4, protests; at 6, street battles.
Valkyrie Oversight (4)
Blasphemy, dead gods, or anti-Æsir rhetoric fill this. At 4, a Valkyrie strike team arrives.
Bastion Growth (6)
Invest resources to gain defenses, workshops, and agents. At 6, unlock a bastion move: rally, hide, or strike.
Printable Cards
Print or copy these cards so players can track Volsprung-specific levers.
Object
Succession Writ
Proof of rulership. Play to sway a ring-lord or to avert a riot.
Rule
Bastion Permit
Negate one tax or toll when moving resources; revoke if Valkyrie Oversight hits 4.
Power
Count's Marker
Call in the Count to resolve a scene in your favor; adds 2 debt.
NPC
Reformer Pass
Grant advantage on rolls with thralls or artisans; expire on betrayal.
Object
Valkyrie Wing Shard
Component for god-killer weapons; also intimidates Æsir clergy once.
Deliverables and Rewards
- Choose an heir or ruling council. Record how the Æsir react.
- Establish bastion location and two upgrades (forge, infirmary, scouts, shrine).
- Secure one god-killer lead: map to Jotunheim, rune recipe, or Valkyrie wing shard.
- Set faction favor and debts for future leverage.
"Cities are dungeons that pretend to be safe. Volsprung is nine dungeons stacked."
Nojut, Ring-Lord of the Third