Stefano Buonocore
Today we are pleased to offer you the review of Tales of the Wolfguard, an environment module compatible with the open gaming license system of Old School Essentials. First of all, we thank the author, Andrea Tupac Mollica, for sending us a digital copy of the manual. Being one of the authors of RAYN, winner of the 2023 No Dice Unrolled Awards as Editors’ Game of the Year, we had pretty high expectations.
Tales of the Wolfugardcan be purchased on DriveThruRPG for $2.99. The manual is only available in digital edition and only in English, although Hellwinter Forge of Wonders, Andrea’s independent label, is an Italian production company. The volume reached the Gold Best Seller mark a few days after its publication, certifying user satisfaction and the popularity of the product.
Handbook Review of Tales of the Wolfguard
This volume consists of 56 pages, written entirely by Andrea. The original artwork was created by Alessandro Paderi, integrated with additional study images and maps created with Hexographer. The graphic line of the manual winks at the typical Old School style of the reference system. At the same time, however, it draws heavily on all the ideas that a more modern approach can offer. This is a constant that is repeated in all aspects of the manual.
The first impression is that the pages are inspired by older manuals, a style much taken up by Old School Reinassance. Black and white and an almost spartan layout. Although it calls for the same cleanliness, Tales of the Wolfguard However, it uses a series of tricks and expedients to make reading more pleasant. Also, thanks to its exclusively digital format, the pages with a pale yellow background are very relaxing on the screen. The whole thing is completed with red for the titles of the various chapters and a very tidy layout. A different colour for the text boxes, pink for the author’s notes and light blue for some game insights, give the volume an excellent glance.
The illustrations, on the other hand, show a particularly effective stylistic choice in the digital format. In black and white, they each have a different colour (particularly bright) which highlights some details. A winning choice in general, but when you get to the illustration of the main gate of the Faraway Den it becomes spectacular.
What Are We Talking About?
The module allows you to set your own adventures in Blizzard Vale, located at the extreme mountain borders of an ancient empire. In ancient times the valley was inhabited by populations of barbarian elves, whose territories were conquered and incorporated into the empire itself; currently, only five of the powerful clans remain, each with its own cultural peculiarities. In this the author’s training as an anthropologist forcefully imposes itself. In fact, his ability to identify and outline strongly characterizing elements with an enormous capacity for synthesis emerges.
Obviously Tales of the Wolfguard is designed to offer gameplay insights into any campaign in a narrative segment in mountainous and glacial environments. However, it is undeniable that he is at his best with a stable group of characters. Even more so if this becomes strongly tied to the Wolfguard. The protagonist of the module is this feared elite of warriors who were once a penal colony, capable of facing an invasion of barbarians on their own. Which almost always results in the PCs joining its ranks; where they will be obliged to wear a wolf’s head on their hoods, helmets or hats.
Review of Tales of the Wolfguard: Peculiarities of this Module
The volume is written with a particular skill. To begin with, Andrea’s writing style is very fluent and equally pleasant. It gives the sensation of reading a setting module from the golden era of RPGs (between the 70s and 80s). Despite this, the result is never cloying or obsolete. There are no overly long texts or unnecessary insights. On the contrary, what emerges even just by browsing Tales of the Wolfguard is the wealth of ideas and contents in such a small text. In just a few lines you can perfectly outline the culture and lifestyle of Blizzard Vale.
There’s no need for endless chronologies, detailed village maps, or lists of non-player characters. Andrea chooses to generally present how things work at a very high and generic descriptive level. In this frame of reference, he then inserts setting elements, key characters and extremely timely and effective concrete game ideas. The result is to outline a “loose-mesh” setting. In this way, the master will have plenty of space to create his own story, without ever being without points of reference.
Structure of the Manual
Like any good game with the flavour of Old School that is respected, Tales of the Wolfguard is full of tables. Both to facilitate the Master’s work and because it offers them as an element of further fun. The game may certainly focus on combat, but Blizzard Vale is full of political gameplay, espionage, and cultural conflict. The adventures can be declined in various ways, relying on chance when you want an encounter that takes the players by surprise.
There’s no shortage of maps, of course. Extremely readable and simple, but with brilliant ideas. The aforementioned Faraway Den, for example, has a specific gameplay cue for each room. For example, the legend circulating among the members of the Wolfguard of a creature that feeds on what it finds in its latrines. Yes, there is a game idea dedicated to latrines too. But even more interesting are the ruins of Urizen, the tower of a witch from ages past. In fact, each random encounter in its rooms is associated with a different extra mini-dungeon.
Tales of the Wolfguard: Review of the “Extras”
To close the volume, an adventure and a random plot generator for quests. Windswept Pass is designed to give characters a taste of what their life will be like once they join the Wolfguard. Racial conflicts, marauding raids, monstrous creatures among snowy valleys and frozen mountain passes. The spirit of this module is fully expressed in a few simple scenes. In the end, the keys to the Faraway Den, which the characters have had from the beginning, will have been fully deserved.
And it’s the plot generator for quests that’s even more interesting. With a series of dice rolls, the tables prepared by the author allow you to decide which will be the main location of the adventure but also who the villain will be, what moves him and what defeating him will bring to the characters. They allow us to outline the event that connects to the plot and the dominant theme of the adventure, and above all to establish what its twist will be and what will be the peak of its dramatic events.
To the (Random) Adventure
It’s about a work which, in the style of the manual, is concise and accurate, and above all perfectly matches the style of Old School to more modern sensibilities and ideas. A game within a game lasting just a few minutes allows you to generate an adventure perfectly suited to the setting of the valley.
For example, in some ancient uninhabited ruins beyond a frozen pass, a mysterious character finds refuge. A schemer with a small group of followers who follow his orders, who only at the end of the adventure will reveal his identity and the crazy passion that drives him. The characters, rebellious but driven by a sense of duty, will have to face a painful betrayal in a story of mystery and intrigue, and only by sacrificing themselves in a final sacrifice will allow them to foil their adversary’s plans.
This adventure sketch was obtained in a few moments and with a few rolls of the dice. By fitting it together with the game ideas and elements outlined in the manual, it allows you to obtain a complete adventure set in the valley with very little effort.
Conclusions of the Review of Tales of the Wolfguard
Tales of the Wolfguard it’s a little editorial gem. An extremely well-conceived and created work, with attention to every detail by an author who knows the difference between writing well in general and writing a good setting module well.
In general, it is clear that when Tales of the Wolfguard was created there was no desire in mind to simply describe a setting but to write something that could be fun and interesting to play. This manual is designed to send the characters on an adventure in Blizzard Vale and brings home the result extremely effectively. The ideas can be interesting for introducing a fantasy setting among the snowy peaks into any game campaign, but for lovers of Old School, Tales of the Wolfguard it is simply unmissable, especially in view of an absolutely unprecedented quality-price ratio.
