Korklewski - RAGNAROK heavy metal combat in the Viking Age

OSPREY GAMES

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

PO Box 883, Oxford, OX1 9PL, UK

1385 Broadway, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10018, USA

E-mail:

www.ospreygames.co.uk

This electronic edition published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

OSPREY GAMES is a trademark of Osprey Publishing Ltd

First published in Great Britain in 2019

Tim Korklewski 2019

Tim Korklewski has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work.

All rights reserved
You may not copy, distribute, transmit, reproduce or otherwise make available this publication (or any part of it) in any form, or by any means (including without limitation electronic, digital, optical, mechanical, photocopying, printing, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A catalog record for this book is available from the British Library.

ISBN: 978-1-4728-3281-8 (HB)
ISBN: 978-1-4728-3282-5 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-4728-3283-2 (ePDF)
ISBN: 978-1-4728-3280-1 (XML)

Osprey Games supports the Woodland Trust, the UKs leading woodland conservation charity.

To find out more about our authors and books visit www.ospreypublishing.com. Here you will find our full range of publications, as well as exclusive online content, details of forthcoming events and the option to sign up for our newsletters. You can also sign up for Osprey membership, which entitles you to a discount on purchases made through the Osprey site and access to our extensive online image archive.

This book is dedicated to my wife, Dana Korklewski.

Without her constant support and encouragement to pursue my dream, the Morpheus Engine would never have seen the light of day.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

The Morpheus Engine is a personal project I have been passionate about for many years. The systems title is based around the idea that you, as a player, can Play What You Dreamand the name stuck with me. Over the years, I have played quite a few miniatures games; each one requiring I learn a completely new rules system. This made keeping track of game mechanics when playing in multiple tournaments for various games at conventions extremely complicated.

The Morpheus Engine is my personal answer to this problem: use a core mechanical system that allows you to play anything from Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Mass-Combat battles, to Science Fiction Space Opera fights, to modern-day Cops versus Gangsters and spend only a few minutes learning the handful of extra rules required for each unique game setting.

These Core Rules went through many iterations, and I am happy to present the final version here, which are used for each game the Morpheus Engine powers. I am working incredibly hard to keep new content coming at you for each game setting to keep your games as fresh and exciting as miniatures games ought to be!

In closing, thank you from the bottom of my heart for purchasing this product. It means quite a lot to this passionate wargamer that you share in the excitement of my creation!

Tim Korklewski
Creator of the Morpheus Engine

THE TALE OF THE END

The Fractured Edda

Gather round, my battle kin, and hear how we came to such a fate. For time unmeasured, Yggdrasilthe World Treeheld aloft the nine realms of existence. Each realm was connected by branch or root to the Great Ash, spread far and wide to allow each realm to flourish on their own without causing great discord to the others.

Midgard, the realm of mortals, was ours. It was here that we ruled and conquered under the gods watchful eyes. It was here that the greatest battles of our time took place and mighty heroes brought down legendary monsters.

Asgard, home to the Aesirthe mightiest of the godssat atop the tree. From high above Midgard, the gods watched over us mortals, intervening in our fates when they saw fit. Our mightiest warriors joined them in Valhalla.

Jotunheim, the realm of the Jotnar or giants, lay close enough to Midgard to allow the children of Ymir to cross over from time to time and exert their power against us.

Alfheim, home to the Aelves of Light, was a mysterious place rife with untold magics and ancient traditions.

Vanaheim, home to the Vanir, the gods of nature and fertility was a realm thick with trees and plant life. Some say that powers of future sight and wisdom were granted to those who made Vanaheim their home.

Muspelheim, the realm of fire, eternally smoldered under King Surtr the Fire Giants rule. Within the great volcanoes and foundries of the realm, the sun and stars were formed.

Opposite Muspelheim was Niflheim, realm of ice and mists, home to the mighty Frost Giantsstronger than even our mightiest heroes. Hiding within its mists are the mysterious Niflungar, the cruel and selfish children of the cold realm.

The realm of Darkness, known as Svartalfheim, was a massive cave that received no light from the sun above. Here dwelled the Svartaelves, Aelves of Dark who lived alongside the great Dwarven smiths. Many great magics were forged into weapons within these dark halls, which also held items of untold power.

Buried deep within the Roots, deeper than the great wells, was Helheim, the realm of lost souls. This is where the dead ended their passage when they were ill or led a heinous life. It was here Lokis daughter, Hel, ruled.

All of that has passed.

You see, my kin, imprisoned deep within the Yggdrasils roots was an immense being as old as the tree itselfand even larger than Jormungandr, The Great World Serpent. For eons, Nidhoggr, The Malice Striker, a great and terrible dragon, desperately gnawed away at the roots of Yggdrasil trying to free itself from its prison. The bodies of those slain and found unworthy in the mortal realms regularly washed up on the Corpse River of Nastrond; thus, the dragon ate them to maintain its strength. Many believed the ever-growing Yggdrasil was strong enough to hold such a heinous beast. And for untold time, they were right.

Eventually, though, Nidhoggr did the impossible. It clawed and chewed its way free from the World Tree and took flight into the Great Void.

As soon as Nidhoggr was free, Yggdrasil toppled, slamming the nine realms together with great forcean event you all know as The Shattering. Asgard, which once sat so high upon the tree, took the most forceful blow with Yggdrasils collapse; it shattered, the thunderous impact killing the Aesir. The remaining realms collided into one another, causing primordial elements and the beings of the realms to pour unchecked into the remnants.