OSR Commentary On The Ice Kingdoms: The Fires of Mount Surtur Kickstarter & The Ice Kingdoms Campaign Setting

Deep in the heart of Mount Surtur an ancient evil long thought vanquished is stirring. Can your heroes protect the Ice Kingdoms from the legacy of the fire giants?

Continuing the Swords & Sorcery theme with a twist with the new  Mad Martian games Kickstarter. In less then twenty four hours I've watched Mad Martian's latest Ice Kingdom's adventure Fires of Surtur Kickstarter  fulfill & now its stretch goal time.




This adventure is built around the idea of the Thanelands a full on fantasy version of Norse & full throttle Viking mythology with an old school setting twist. The Thanelands is a solid setting that could be added into an existing campaign as another Northern alternative plane or as another Norse style across the world country. There are new PC classes, spells, monsters, etc that are specifically adjusted to the the setting. The Ice Kingdoms is specifically designed for OSR games;
"The Ice Kingdoms is a fantasy setting inspired by and designed for old school RPGs. We love the ‘feel’ of old school games (such as pre-3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons) and their rules, so we are creating game material that is compatible with several modern game systems that use the Open Game License to ‘retro-clone’ those classic games. The Ice Kingdoms is compatible with OSRIC and For Gold & Glory, and our books can also be used with Swords & Wizardry, Basic Fantasy Role-Playing, and Labyrinth Lord with only very minimal conversion, as well as the original editions upon which these games are based. We are currently working to convert our earlier projects to other game systems such as Pathfinder, 3rd Edition and 5th edition."

The Thanelands has its own distinctive feel & style to the setting. Fires of Surtur takes it & amps it up to eleven, given that the Thanelands is specifically designed with its own distinct take on Norse mythology, it stands to reason that this is going to be very distinctive take of an adventure. I'm also interested to see where they take the Thanelandsversion of Kobolds in this The Fires of Mount Surtur.


The artwork looks very interesting to me & since there's an extensive catalog of adventures & supplements I'm intrigued by the direction of this Mad Martian games latest efforts. If your interested in getting a feel for the Thanelands, 'The Temple of Drawoh Rock' 1st level adventure is available for 'pay what you want'. It will give a solid overview for the adventure locations of the Thanelands;
'The Temple of Drawoh Rock is an adventure module for 1st level characters exploring the Ice Kingdoms. As warriors of Thane Ornulf the characters will sail the Atalac Sea, explore the Gate Isles, and raid the Monastery of Jove. But what starts out as a simple plan to rob some peaceful monks turns into a harrowing adventure as the adventurers cross paths with the machinations of a deadly sorcerer. The Temple of Drawoh Rock is the fourth adventure for the Ice Kingdoms Campaign Setting. For more adventures in the Ice Kingdoms see Into the Mournwood, The Lair of the White Wyvern, The Girl With the Demon Tattoos, and The Ice Kingdoms Campaign Setting all from Mad Martian Games'


Is this kickstarter worth your dime?! Seriously I think so. The Thanelands setting is flexible enough to be used with a large variety of OSR games. We're finally getting the bestiary we need & the Thanelands has expanded considerably since the their very first kickstarter. Since this is the case I'd use the Thanelands as an old school  background setting for running the '81 Gygax classic Against The Giants. The Thanelands has everything a dungeon master could want to run this classic along with the appropriate background & PC classes.


I think that the Fires of Surtur adventure could be used to enhance G1,2,3, & as a possible side quest for the adventure path. Do I think that the Fires of Surtur is worth your money?! In a word yes!!

Commentary On The OSR Retroclone Kickstarter For The Ice Kingdoms By Mad Martian Games

Check Out Ice Kingdoms
& Support Here

So there's a new sword and sorcery style retroclone on Kickstarter called Ice Kingdoms; the ideas & concepts are interesting here. The idea of a more generic Ice Age style world for a low magic, high violence sword & sorcery world appeals to me as  a dungeon master. So take a look at  The Ice Kingdoms by Mad Martian Games

The game seems centered around a Viking Norman sword & sorcery era coupled with some of the usual D&D  tropes and set in the background of an Ice Age style world. This looks like the Kickstarter that could & because it appeals to me as a new sword and sorcery style retroclone I thought I'd shed a bit of light on it and raise the signal.
The game world campaign book is described as;"The Ice Kingdoms Campaign Setting, a game setting that is sort of Robert E. Howard Sword and Sorcery meets Vikings. It captures the fantastical aspects of Norse Mythology with some Greek, Arthurian, Celtic, Germanic and Russian Mythology added for flavor. But it is firmly set in a fantasy world."


Another nice aspect is the crossover appeal with your favorite OSR setting or retroclone rules set up:"However the plan is to also include options that include stats and rule conversions to make Ice Kingdoms compatible with other game lines, such as the Open Game License for Wizards of the Coasts 3rd Edition Dungeons and Dragons as well as Pathfinder and other RPGs. Our goals include making versions of  the Ice Kingdoms available to match different open game rules, including OSRIC, For Gold & Glory, Labyrinth Lord and 5E."
One thing I've noticed lately is the cross over of retroclone systems more and more. This is something that's been on going since the beginning of the OSR but lately its really coming into its own lately. This trend is something I hope will continue. Anyhow I hope that this Kickstarter goes well and we'll see the Ice Kingdoms making its debut soon.