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 TALE OF THE END
THE FRACTURED EDDA
INTRODUCTION
WHAT IS THE MORPHEUS ENGINE?
RAGNAROK: EPIC BATTLES IN A HEAVY METAL AGE
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
WHAT YOU NEED TO PLAY
Miniatures
Dice
The Battlefield
Terrain
Tape Measure, Tokens, Counters, Etc.
THE WORLD OF RAGNAROK
THE FRACTURED REALMS
Alfheim
Asgard
Helheim
Jotunheim
Midgard
Muspelheim
Niflheim
Svartalfheim
Vanaheim
MORPHEUS ENGINE CORE RULES
MODEL PROFILE
Model
Attacks
CHOOSE A SCENARIO
Battlefield Set-up
Deploying Models
MEASUREMENTS
GAME ROUNDS AND PHASES
HQ Phase
Initiative Phase
Activation Phase
End Phase
THE SUCCESS TABLE
USING ACTION POINTS
MOVEMENT
ATTACKS
Line of Sight
MELEE ATTACK RULES
RANGED ATTACK RULES
Distance Penalty
Firing at an Engaged Model
Cover
Special Ranged Attacks
FOCUS ACTION
TERRAIN ELEMENTS
WEAPONIZE RAGNAROK’S TERRAIN: MAKE IT DANGEROUS!
WEAPONIZED TERRAIN
Barbed Forest
Lush Forest
Magma Pool
Thin Ice
WAR CLAN CREATION
CREATING YOUR WAR CLAN
Jarl
Bondi
Huskarl
Berserker
Skald
Gothi
Speider
WEAPONS AND ARMOR
Melee Weapons
Ranged Weapons
Armor
GOD POWERS AND GODSPARK
OBTAINING INITIAL GOD POWERS
GENERATING GODSPARK
USING GODSPARK
GOD POWERS
Balder
Dellingr
Forseti
Frigg
Heimdallr
Hermodr
Hodr
Loki
Odin
Odr
Sif
Thor
Thrud
Tyr
Ullr
CAMPAIGN PLAY
STARTING AND PLAYING IN A CAMPAIGN
War Clan Rank
The Post-Game Campaign Sequence
RECORD GLORY
INJURY AND DEATH IN A CAMPAIGN
RAID
Usable Items
Equipment
Magic Items
Legendary Items
Gaining New God Powers
WAR CLAN IMPROVEMENT PHASE
Improving War Clan Warriors
Improving God Powers
Imprinting God Powers
RECRUITING NEW WAR CLAN WARRIORS
Hiring New Warriors
Hiring Encounter Models as Warriors
Demimortals
Disbanding Warriors
PURCHASING ITEMS AND GODPOWERS
Purchasing Items
Selling Items
Equipping Warriors
Purchasing God Powers
SCENARIOS
OBJECTIVE MARKERS
ANATOMY OF A SCENARIO
DETERMINING SCENARIOS AND DEPLOYMENT
SCENARIO 1: HOSTILE TAKEOVER
SCENARIO 2: BLOODY CONTEST
SCENARIO 3: SUDDEN CONFLICT
SCENARIO 4: THE DEAD DRAGON’S HOARD
SCENARIO 5: DOORWAY TO THE BIFROST
SCENARIO 6: RAMPAGE OF TROLLS
GAINING GLORY FOR CAMPAIGN PLAY
SECONDARY OBJECTIVES
List of Secondary Objectives
OPTIONAL ENCOUNTERS
DEPLOYING AND ACTIVATING ENCOUNTER MODELS
BESTIARY
ANIMALS
Bears
Boars
Apes
Stags
Wolves
CORRUPTED BEINGS
Eotins
Corrupted Skraelings
Hags
DEMIMORTALS
Aelves
Dvergr
Dwarves
DEMONS
DIVINITY
DRAGONS
Linnormr
Scoffin
Wyverns
ELEMENTALS
Air Elementals
Earth Elementals
Fire Elementals
Water Elementals
JOTNAR
LYCANTHROPES
UNDEAD
ABILITIES LISTS
SPECIAL ABILITIES
ATTACK ABILITIES
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
FOREWORD
The Morpheus Engine is a personal project I have been passionate about for many years. The system’s title is based around the idea that you, as a player, can Play What You Dream—and 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, Yggdrasil—the World Tree—held 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 Aesir—the mightiest of the gods—sat 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 power
s 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 Giant’s 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 Giants—stronger 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 Loki’s daughter, Hel, ruled.
All of that has passed.
You see, my kin, imprisoned deep within the Yggdrasil’s roots was an immense being as old as the tree itself—and 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 force—an event you all know as The Shattering. Asgard, which once sat so high upon the tree, took the most forceful blow with Yggdrasil’s 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.
This is where we currently sit, my kin—our realm and those surrounding it in chaos, our very existence in peril. We are assaulted on all sides by all manner of beasts and monstrosities. Magma pours forth, burning our great forests to cinders even as the icy wind freezes the air we breathe. From the remnants of Helheim, all manner of dead crawl forth unchecked, trying to reclaim their former lives. The gods are dead; they offer no solace or end to these times. But, not all is lost! You see, bits of the power from which the Aesir were created float about the Fractured Realms, seeking out any brave enough to grasp it. This energy—mere sparks of the dead gods’ power—is there for the taking. If the gods are slain and we need gods to restore order to what remains of the realms, then we must seek out this power… this Godspark! We shall become the new gods and rebuild the realms as we see fit! Raise your weapons high, my kin. It is time for us to rise and create for ourselves a legendary legacy! They shall tell our saga for generations to come!
Torhild – Skald of the Wyrmkiller clan
INTRODUCTION
What is The Morpheus Engine?
The Morpheus Engine is a core mechanical system used to play multiple different miniatures games. The book you hold in your hands uses the Morpheus Engine to bring this game to life. Morpheus Engine games are for two (or more) opposing players, each of whom control an army or faction of models and fight to complete the game’s set objectives.
Ragnarok: Epic Battles in a Heavy Metal Age
Welcome to the dangerous and visceral world of Ragnarok. Set during an alternate version of the legendary Death of the Gods, your War Clan must cut a brutal swath across the Fractured Realms in search of Godspark, become the new gods of what remains of the realms, and claim their rightful places in the tales of legend.
This game is powered by the Morpheus Engine. If you have other games powered by the Morpheus Engine, you can skip the Morpheus Engine Core Rules section and go straight to Weaponize Ragnarok’s Terrain: Make it Dangerous! where the additional rules and mechanics you need to play this game begin.
How to Use This Book
Ragnarok contains all rules necessary to play the game. As with most games from the Morpheus Engine, it is primarily designed for campaign play; however, you can play the Scenarios as one-shot games or reformat them for competitive tournament play.
What You Need to Play
To play Ragnarok, you need this rulebook, a table, dice, pen (or pencil) and paper, a tape measure or ruler (in inches, often shown as “) and, of course, the most important part of any miniatures game: miniatures. It is also helpful to have a variety of terrain for your battlefield. This not only blocks an attack’s line of sight, but adds to the players’ immersion in the game making for a much more exciting experience. If you are new to the wargaming hobby, most of these things are explained in detail below.
MINIATURES
Miniatures are, by far, the most important part of the wargaming hobby. Typically made from metal, resin, or plastic, you use these toy soldiers to represent the various members of your War Clan and the creatures they face in the Fractured Realms. Hundreds of companies make miniatures, any of which can work quite well for Ragnarok. There are photos of painted miniatures throughout this book, to give you a glimpse of this exciting world. All entries list the model company represented in the photo. In the back of this book, you can find a list of the companies and their websites from which you can order models. Alternatively, you can take this list to your Friendly Local Game Store and request that they order them for you.
For Ragnarok, your starting War Clans consist of humans. Eventually, your War Clans face giants, wolves, and other fantastic beasts of legend in various sizes. The typical heroic miniature scale is 28-32mm. While the game does not require that you have exact models, players should try to use models that best represent the armor, weapons, and special gear their warriors carry. The goal is for all players to agree which models represent which War Clan members.
DICE
As with all Morpheus Engine games, you need only two, six-sided dice (2D6) and one eight-sided die (1D8). The D8 is for special situations, such as scattering area of effect attacks.
Most actions in the Morpheus Engine require that you roll dice to complete tasks, such as attacking other models. See the Core Rules section of this book for details about using dice.
THE BATTLEFIELD
Typically, a two-player game of Ragnarok is played on a 3’ x 3’ square table. For multi-player games, you can increase the table size to 4’ x 4’ to allow each War Clan a bit more room to maneuver (unless you want to keep the action up-close and bloody from the start). In extreme cases (such as games with 5+ players), you can increase the table size to 6’ x 4’ to clash in a grand battle and acquire as much Glory as possible! The Scenarios section of this book covers proper set-up and deployment options for multi-player games.
TERRAIN
As with many skirmish wargames, having plenty of terrain on the table is not only beneficial to game play, it is visually pleasing, as well. It does not matter whether your terrain is store-bought, built from scratch, or a collection of various pieces. You can use many different types of terrain in the Fractured Realms of Ragnarok, the most common of which are forests, large trees, hills, rocky outcroppings, ruined buildings, and crumbled walls.
The Fractured Realms section in this book discusses the unique aspects of the different realms’ ruined remnants. Read through it to get a feel for the types of terrain that would make each location unique. Use your imagination to come up with stunning terrain you can place on your battlefield to make your battles unique and interesting. Remember, Ragnarok may begin in the remnants of Midgard, but all the Fractured Realms are your warzones!
TAPE MEASURE, TOKENS, COUNTERS, ETC.
Morpheus Engine games are measured in inches, so you need a tape m
easure or similar device to measure distances while playing. You also need different tokens and counters to represent current model health, status effects, and the like.
THE WORLD OF RAGNAROK
For time untold, Yggdrasil, the World Tree, stood tall—holding the nine realms of existence within its great branches and roots. Each realm was its own separate world, held apart by the tree. Yggdrasil held within it all the power of existence, and each realm held a fraction of that power. Midgard balanced any excess power that spilled forth from the realms. Here, mortals were created; and they thrived.
While Midgard itself was a place of harmony between the ancient powers, it was not without its own turmoil. From the ashes of ancient mortals rose a warrior stock so mighty that legends speak of their ability to rival the gods themselves. These mortals were called Vikings. Viking culture was built on the back of hardship and glory; Vikings were constantly at war with their neighbors or hunting the beasts of the dark forest without ever fearing the absolution of death. They feared no man or beast because facing such rivals earned them fame and made them worthy enough to catch the gaze of Odin, King of the Aesir. If Odin deemed them worthy, Valkyries would carry any Vikings who fell in combat to Asgard to join him in the great halls of Valhalla, a divine home for legendary warriors. Here, these chosen warriors would train for eternity to prepare for the great war that would end the Aesir.
But, the great war never came to pass.
Deep within the great roots of Yggdrasil, an ancient dragon known as Nidhoggr—The Malice Striker—was confined. Nidhoggr was a chaotic and primordial being that fought against its prison with tooth and claw. Each time Nidhoggr severed an earthen bond, Yggdrasil grew an even stronger one in its place. Even the Fates were blind to Nidhoggr’s schemes when it finally broke free and toppled the World Tree, causing the realms to come crashing together in the event known as The Shattering. As the great realm of Asgard existed at Yggdrasil’s very heights, it fell the farthest of all the realms upon the collapse. And the gods who lived there, the Aesir, died on impact, their spirits shattering along with the realm itself. All who survived the collapse immediately felt the divine loss of those who once watched over the mortals of Midgard.
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