There are not enough sign-ups on the “Make Raiders of the Serpent Sea for Foundry” Kickstarter. Well short of the target of 500 I set for launching the Kickstarter!

As I navigate the end of my current employment and figuring out what’s next, it is increasing looking like spending a few months on the Foundry VTT version for Raiders isn’t likely to happen. (Especially as I’m considering more of a full-time gig to replace the contract work that has recently ended for me … I have to feed the tomte after all!)

Still, anything is possible! If you are interested in a Foundry VTT version of Raiders of the Serpent Sea, the link is here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/arcanumworldscanada/raiders-of-the-serpent-sea-foundry-vtt-edition

There’s a lot of backstory for the world of Grimnir, and the plot of “Raiders of the Serpent Sea”, that never made it into the final book (’cause 500 pages is big enough). That said, much of this info still exists in various notes here and there. At times I’m inclined to do something with them.

I’ve contemplated writing a short story or two involving Hrolf the Hero of a Hundred Raids and revealing more of the details of his and Mother Guhnbarg’s courtship, their early years together, and the events that led to their separation. While it might not seem like it, this personal story of theirs is tied very tightly to the tension rising as the clans realize that Ragnarök approaches. But the story itself never made sense to fully reveal as part of the campaign itself.

But I’ve also wanted to try my hand at creating a small cRPG (think “mini BioWare project”). I definitely need to brush up on my coding skills and using modern game engines as I try to reenter the videogame industry in a larger way. So the idea of merging the “telling of a fun a story in Grimnir’s past” with an interactive adventure is appealing.

What do all of you think? If I released a free “find out more about Hrolf” adventure, would anyone play?

 Would You Play? – Fill out form

I’m not ready to say too much about the game at this point as I am in prototype phase with it and features and details are likely to change. However, the core components include “party-based, deck building, RPG elements, sailing the Serpent Sea, and an interactive story.” In slightly more detail:

• A computer RPG, set in the dark fantasy world of Grimnir (but not Dungeons & Dragons). Most combat will be “low-action” (you won’t need the reflexes of a 15 year old drinking five cans of Dr. Pepper to win); some challenge elements may be turn-based (I am prototyping things!)
• In story-mode* you play as Hrolf (before his legend begins … he’s the hero of exactly zero raids at the start)
• You acquire crew, who’ll banter, interject, and otherwise behave not unlike the characters from other computer roleplaying games I’ve worked on in the past.
  • This crew also has a variety of passive and active abilities that’ll help your journey
• Your choices will influence later outcomes (my ambition is high here, but at least for the prototype, temper your expectations; I am but a crew of one)
• You engage in sea battles against other raiders
• You collect lore about the world of Grimnir, discover interesting places, and deal with the truth of living on the harsh Serpent Sea (i.e., bad stuff keeps happening)
• I intend an initial prototype release (placeholder art, no sound, etc.) in early 2026; this will be made free via my itch account
  • This will only be the first “episode” in a series of episodes I want to create that will explore Hrolf’s past
  • Should target only about 15 minutes of gameplay but provide a good idea of what the game will be like
  • Where this game goes after that will depend on whether anyone is interested in learning more about Hrolf’s story!

*If story-mode is successful there’s the possibility of a more rogue-lite experience focusing on the action-mechanics from story-mode, along with more deck-building elements for some of the subsystems.