
Runecairn: Wardensaga
A downloadable adventure game
The Runecairn Bestiary is now available, with 100 new monsters!

In a long-forgotten age, a raging war shattered and devastated the worlds of gods and men. Now green life blooms amidst the ruins of the lost worlds. Wondrous and terrible beings roam the Nine Realms. Civilisation stumbles forward, fresh and reaching.
Fate carves the skein anew but there are loose threads, lost long ago in the wars, with no place in the tapestry. These threads must seek the fire within and weave their own path.
Strap on your bearded axe and linden wood shield, delve into the forsaken barrow and cleanse the draugr within. They will overhwhelm you at first so prepare to die. But when you wake up at the bonfire, you'll know what to expect for your next attempt. Parry their attacks, disarm them, and hack them to pieces. Defeat the mad jotunn within and claim the soul remnant they protect.
Death is not the end.
What is Runecairn: Wardensaga?
Runecairn is a Soulslike Norse fantasy RPG by Colin Le Sueur for 1-3 players. Character creation is quick and intuitive, dynamic combat is intense and reactive. Wardensaga combines the Runecairn: Core Rules, introductory dungeon crawl adventure Beneath the Broken Sword, and newly introduced Advanced Rules in an 84-page deluxe hardcover edition with a cover from ground-breaking artist CROM. Runecairn: Wardensaga is published by Exalted Funeral and is available in hardcover and softcover.
Wardensaga Features:
- Set in a Norse fantasy world some time after Ragnarok
- Core gameplay designed for 2 players, one Warden and one Adventurer
- Streamlined d20 roll-under rules based on Cairn, Into the Odd, and Knave
- Soulslike mechanics such as resurrecting at bonfires, respawning monsters, and dynamic combat
- Quickstart dungeon crawl adventure Beneath the Broken Sword, perfect for new players
- 4 core starting classes: Warrior, Scout, Seer, Skald
- 2 new advanced classes: Berserkr, Pyre
- New options for solo play with a rune-based oracle
- New random delve generator for creating Norse dungeons
- New options for 3 or more players with summoned allies (jolly cooperation!) and invasions
Links
- Exalted Funeral
- Runecairn: Core Rules
- Beneath the Broken Sword
- System Reference Document (SRD) and 3rd Party License: https://runecairn.byodinsbeardrpg.com
- Paper character sheet
Social Media Links
You can find Colin (@ByOdinsBeardRPG) on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.
Or you can find our store at shop.byodinsbeardrpg.com.
Art Assets
The primary art & promotional assets for Runecairn: Wardensaga can be found here.
Team Members
Colin Le Sueur (@byodinsbeardrpg) - Writer/Illustrator/Designer
CROM (@bitsofcrom) - Cover Illustrator
Jonus Lau Markussen - Viking Age Illustrations
From Colin
Runecairn started as the kernel of an idea: could I turn Dark Souls into a TTRPG? After early tests with different systems and approaches, I had a rickety skeleton. I just needed some Norse magic to bring it to life!
Combining Norse fantasy and Dark Souls was the key combination I'd been searching for. Cairn is an efficient and streamlined system built for hacking and it sings with additional mechanics like weapon abilities and item as class. As the game developed, I realised it worked best when played with just two players, to allow the Adventurer to get closer to a Soulslike experience.
The response to Runecairn has been amazing and I'm so proud of how far this little game has come in the last year.
What People Are Saying
Chris McDowall (@Bastionland), designer and creator of Into the Odd and Electric Bastionland:
I absolutely love Runecairn! As soon as I read it I wanted to steal its ideas. It changed the way I think about the type of games that the Into the Odd system can run.
Rich August (@RpgAugust), designer and writer at Steamforged Games (Dark Souls: The Roleplaying Game):
Thank you for such an awesome game - I loved reading Runecairn and it’s on my list of 2022 games to get to the table. And the layout is lovely too.
Richard Kelly (@SprintingOwl), designer:
If you're looking for a moderately crunchy duo TRPG, or if you're a fan of Souls games, or if you want to see a stellar adaptation of video game mechanics to tabletop, I would strongly recommend giving Beneath the Broken Sword (and Runecairn) a shot.
Sebrina Calkins (@EntwifeXP), reviewer:
This is a quality game, adapting Cairn to an apocalyptic Norse setting with a greater emphasis on arms, armour and combat without losing the deadly and considered tone of its forebear.
Runecairn: Wardensaga is available in hardcover and softcover exclusively from Exalted Funeral:
https://www.exaltedfuneral.com/products/runecairn-wardensaga-pdf
Updates
Sign up to the By Odin's Beard RPG newsletter for release information and updates:
https://byodinsbeardrpg.com/newsletter
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TTRPG icons by Gontijo, released as public domain
Reviews and Actual Plays
Actual Play with Tony from PlusOneExp for Beneath the Broken Sword, the introductory dungeon crawl adventure in Wardensaga:
Review of Wardensaga from Roll 4 Initiative:
Read through and kind words from Chris McDowall, creator of Into the Odd and Electric Bastionland:
Status | Released |
Category | Physical game |
Rating | Rated 5.0 out of 5 stars (74 total ratings) |
Author | By Odin's Beard RPG |
Genre | Role Playing |
Tags | dark-souls, duet, Fantasy, Norse, nsr, Souls-like, Tabletop role-playing game, Two Player |
Purchase
In order to download this adventure game you must purchase it at or above the minimum price of £10 GBP. You will get access to the following files:
Development log
- Corrections and new interior logo, update to v1.145 days ago
- Updated character sheetMay 26, 2023
- Fixed character sheet in FirefoxJul 11, 2022
- Added plain paper character sheetApr 11, 2022
- Runecairn: Wardensaga PDF is now available!Mar 24, 2022
Comments
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Hi Colin,
I GM'd through the intro scenario, had a blast.
I'm now checking out the delve randomiser and well please forgive my silly questions.
so i rolled a cairn, and the first area i rolled an obstacle "Dense roots bar the path, halts movement" that makes sense, the player needs to work out a way around or through them.
though what about the Obstacle "Flooded passage, slows movement" i'm unsure about this as slowed movement aint so bad unless you have enemies chasing you or you are time limited.
Am I right are you just rolling once, per area?
How would you play out this flooded room?
Lastly, do you intend to write any further adventures for RuneCairn?
Many thanks Colin, i've really enjoyed what ive read and my play so far.
Hello! The flooded passage is only a minor inconvenience unless you’re chasing someone or being chased. Some obstacles are meant to slow you down rather than stop you, or introduce random elements to keep things interesting.
Yup, just roll once per encounter.
I’ve got more adventures planned for Runecairn, along with a series of 1-page dungeons. Keep an eye out for these later this year or early next.
Thanks!
thank you Colin.
Hi Colin,
I'm trying to play solo the adventure in the manual and I've a couple of question:
1) at page 67 in first room, it says North to the Winding Corridor instead of east?
2) when I enter the Jagged Chamber the encounter is triggered?
3) If so, when I'm killed I respawn at bonfire in Cave of Echoes? It seems to me a loop without solution.
4) When I respawn at the bonfire in the Quiet Respite?
Thanks!
Hi Matteo,
If killed during the first encounter with the Stone Demon, the adventurer respawns at the start, correct. They’ll have to manoeuvre around the demon and escape through the tunnel into the Quiet Respite when they return. The demon doesn’t destroy the tunnel until they escape.
Thanks!
Hi Colin! I know this is a pretty little and condensed game. However, I'm curious about "Beyond Two Players" part. I read it on the summary, then I went to pag. 48. That page seemed a sort of introductory page, to me; I was hoping for a bigger, extended explanation in the following pages.
Indeed, then the book starts to describing the Advanced Classes (pag.50), but the it describes Solo Play (pag.52). I was baffled about the "missing" Beyond Two Players chapter/paragraph.
Is that part actually missing? Should we have a page with suggestions, balancing hints, additional rules etc.?
Thanks in advance for the attention.
The Beyond Two Players paragraph is an introduction to the new solo, cooperation, and invasions sections expanded on further in that chapter.
I’ve been planning updated rules and guidance on playing with a full party or longer campaign, but that’ll be in a future book. Thanks!
I just wanted to verify that the results of succeeding and failing a Parry are damage advantage NOT double damage correct?
Correct, this should read damage advantage. I’ve just uploaded an updated PDF that fixed this and a number of other minor corrections.
Thanks for the reply and the update. However I think there's another error and it's for Backstab. Under the Scout it states a failed DEX save results in an attack from the target with damage advantage. Under the equipment skills it says the retaliatory attack is double damage. I'm assuming the backstab entry under the Scout is correct. But wanted to check with you. Thanks again for an amazing game. Cheers.
Yup, that’s right. Entry under Scout is correct. This will be corrected in an upcoming update. Thanks!
When delve generating, the instructions say to roll a d12 on the Encounters table, but the tables say d6 on the rows and have 5 column options. How am I supposed to read the d12, and how do I pick a column?
The Encounters table is on page 56
Encounter (d12)
There might have been a typo in an earlier version, but this is the correct current version.
Hope this helps, thanks!
Thanks, somehow I entirely missed that smaller table lol.
I'm having a blast with this game. It is quickly becoming a favourite of mine and I can't wait to see where the adventures lead beyond the Cave of Echoes for the two co-op groups I've started. Elegant design and truly easy to get into.
I did have a question about the Parry skill, though. The Warrior's text states that Parry (reaction, key item) is essentially deflection and riposte for damage advantage on a success; on the other hand, the Equipment skills section text states the same but double damage instead of dmg adv. Is this on purpose, and if so, is the Warrior's Parry skill supposed to be slightly superior or less risky with damage advantage, especially on a failed save?
Thank you so much for such a cool game. Cheers all the way from Venezuela.
Thanks for the kind words!
This is actually an error. The equipment section should mirror what’s in the Warrior section and read damage advantage. Thanks for flagging it up!
I'm glad to be of help, my friend. I ran Beneath the Broken Sword again last night while making a couple of adjustments for 3 PCs, just as a test run. I increased the number of monsters and dialed up or down their difficulty and the rewards/charges in relics, etc. because the idea was that each PC would go on their own solo journey after being carried away by the great ravens. This will enable the whole co-op mode with the effigy stone later. I also honed in on the atmosphere and description, evoking some Beowulf-inspired kennings on the way.
So, alas, my question is: do you have some additional advice for 2+ PCs? And finally, on a Norse-related note, do you have a favourite Norse myth or saga?
Thank you in advance. Cheers, and all the best!
That session sounds great, thanks for sharing!
The main complication I ran into with more than one player is around bonfires: what happens if one adventurer dies when fighting an enemy? Does the surviving adventurer keep fighting? Does the dead one respawn and re-join the fight or wait until the fight’s over? One solution is to use the Elden Ring approach, where you sacrifice something to revive your comrade (1 point of Vigour).
As for Norse myth, I love the story of Iðunn and the eagle. I was happy when I realised there was a figure in Norse myth that would help explain the Estus Flask/mead connection for Runecairn.
Hello. I have a question with the inventory. According to the rules I have 10 inventory slots but apart from that my seer character has 7 "free slots". Does that mean that in total I have 17 inventory slots?
All adventurers start with up to 10 slots but this is taken up by inventory and equipment. So your seer has 3 filled slots and 7 available slots.
Thank you!!
Great solo playthrough from Chaoclypse!
All is based on PDF Runecairn: Core Rules v2.1.
Edit: Have Runecairn: Core Rules by By Odin's Beard RPG (itch.io)
and have asked there, but asking also here in hoping I get am answer somewhere.
You can wield non-bulky weapons in two hands but you won’t get damage advantage; this is meant to account for the higher damage output for bigger weapons.
You can use two non-dual weapons, one in each hand, and gain damage advantage but the other weapon takes up an additional slot.
When attempting to parry, if you fail the roll, your target hits you for double damage, since you’ve left yourself open to additional damage.
This is correct. 3 attackers targeting one target all roll their damage dice. The highest result between the three dice is the damage done. However, adventurers need to decide their reaction before the damage dice are rolled, not after.
Withdraw means you abandon all actions and run away from the combat. Monsters may or may not pursue or continue to attack from range. You’d generally do this as a last resort to avoid death as it opens you up to attacks.
Souls and soul remnants are meant to be rare, but in a long enough campaign there are theoretically no limits to how high your stats can go. However, there’s always a 5% chance of failure if you roll a 20, as this is an automatic failure. Parries also don’t block magical damage, so enemies with magical attacks or weapons will still damage you.
Hope this helps!
thx will help me understand thing better, 4 and 5 helped most. May mod small thing here and there after i played a bit. For i beleve in moding/houseruling, but only then you have after you played and understand rules as writen somethat well atleast to help make better houserules if needed to get what you want out of the systems.
I played the Under the Broken Sword adventure; loved it. Then I ran a Delve, it was a cave, and barely made it out! Lots of fun. However, in my stumbling around in getting the flow of the turns and solo game, I totally forgot about bonfires! Where do I put those in the Delve Generation? I didn't see any notes, so I just figure they occur at the beginning of the Delve and maybe the room just before the final challenge? Your recommendations?
And regarding souls. Since these are this game's XP, do I award one for each adventure or each enemy bested? The Broken Sword notes when a character can earn one but in the solo game/delve generator/bestiary it doesn't mention if there is a potential for a soul. The only indication is that they could be found in secreted areas or awarded for defeating/subduing a demon, dragons or jotunn. I figure I could roll the oracle for this but I'd like your intention. Again, in my solo Delve, I just awarded Alvor one soul for completing the delve. It seemed that if I had given him a soul for each monster beaten, he'd be well on his way to demi-godhood.
I also have a question about monsters. Any tools or tips on making up out own or converting some from other sources?
Thank you so very much for a fun game.
Thanks for the kind words!
For bonfires, I usually put one at the start of the delve and then, depending on the size of the delve, one or two more throughout. A good rule of thumb is to roll a die of fate when you want a bonfire; 1-3 means you find one in the next area, 4-6 means you don’t.
Souls are rewarded by defeating great challenges; for solo play, I’d reward one for completion of the delve.
I’m working on a new Runecairn Bestiary as we speak, which includes 100 new monsters and rules on how to create your own and convert from other games. In the meantime, the Cairn SRD has great tips on how to convert monsters; you can adapt this for Runecairn as the principles are the same:
https://cairnrpg.com/tools/converting-monsters/
Thank you so much!
I can't wait for the new Bestiary. So cool!
hello! does the player have access to all the powers of a given class from level 1?
So the abilities actually come from the items you carry. The starting classes just determine what items you start with and what you did in a previous life. As long as you have the item (you can only have one key item at a time), you can use the abilities.
As well, there aren’t levels as such in the game. Advancement takes the form of levelling up an ability or vitality with Souls.
what is the in-game rationale for only having one key item at a time? Is it just a “magic” type reason? I can guess at the game-mechanics basis for the rule, but am at a loss for how I might explain it to my players (some of whom can be a bit picky about such things). Cheers, 98mph.
The in-world explanation can vary from table to table, but one suggestion might be that key items are tied to the skein of fate; adventurers in Runecairn are free to carve their own fate and this is channelled through the key item, which ties them into a new strand of fate.
Cool, thanks for confirming and providing some nice suggestions!
i’m really not sure what Vitality is for beyond boosting Resilience, would you mind elaborating? gonna run your game in combination with Wayfinding in the Westfjords soon :)
That’s Vitality’s main function, really, a representation of how hale and hearty you are. Resilience is a combination of Vitality and Vigour. You can improve Vitality with Souls but Vigour remains static and decreases when you die. Hope this helps clarify! Thanks!
immensely! tysm c:
Hello, if we buy this game do we need the core rules rulebook or is it enough with this one?
Wardensaga is the whole thing: core rules, introductory adventure, and advanced rules. Thanks!
Thank you so much for making this fantastic game. I have great fun trying out this game. Look forward to seeing more products in this line.
I have a question about the Resolution step in Delve mode. What do "clue" and "setback" exactly mean? I don't seem to find anything related to these in the encounter tables. For example, do the encounters listed under "Mystery/Mundane/Obstacle" imply any clue or setback? Or do they require saves or just add to the narrative (for journaling)?
Thank you!
Clues are things that help you on your delve, guiding you to your objective, and give a bonus to rolls on the Resolution table.
Setbacks are the opposite, things that get in the way of your objective, and they give a penalty to rolls on the Resolution table.
What shape the clues and setbacks take is up to you as they’re only mechanical abstracts. Depending on what your objective is (say, Explore snowy ruins recently uncovered during a violent storm), a clue might be a hidden path to the next area and a setback might be an influx of new snow that impedes exploration.
You decide what shape the clue or setback takes and how that affects your progress. Hope this helps!
That's all clear and now I can see how the oracle and the encounters work perfectly together! I asked this because the rules seem not very explicit about how to generate clues and setbacks. My first (awkward) reading was I got them only from the Resolution table and not also from the encounters.
Also about bonfire: Does my PC get to rest at a bonfire (automatically?) between adventures?
Thanks!
Absolutely, if it makes sense for them to rest at a bonfire. Works well if they’re undertaking a campaign.
Hello dear Viking!
May I introduce myself? I'm the owner of the Italian geek site Cercatori di Atlantide (www.cercatoridiatlantide.it).
I just arrived on your project and I'm very interest in it. Are you interested in a review of the project on my website? If you want to speak about it feel free to contact me. My email is: riccardo.gallori@cercatoridiatlantide.it
Skaal!
Ehm, I'm not a bot T_T
Hi Riccardo, I’ve emailed you. Thanks!
As I promised this is the review of you fantastic ttrpg :)
https://www.cercatoridiatlantide.it/en/runecairn-wardensaga-recensione/
Excellent, thanks for sharing this!
Excellent wrap-up of a long Runecairn solo campaign from Stoneaxe Tabletop Gaming.
So I've noticed that the download link for your paper character sheets isn't available anymore. I want to play this with a proper pen and paper!
Thanks for the heads-up. I’ve added it back to the downloads now.
Here’s a recent solo playthrough from Geek Gamers!
Hey, nice game! This is one of the best OSR, In the Odd inspired RPGs I've ever seen! The combats are so simple and fun at the same time!
I just got one rule question: When you use a soul to level up, what exactly do you level up and how much does it level up? One point on a stat you wish? Or you level everything at the same time? Shouldn't Resilience get higher too?
again, amazing game you made!
Hello, thanks!
Levelling up with a Soul allows you to increase 1 ability (STR, DEX, WIT, or SPI) or Vitality (which in turn increases Resilience). Hope this helps!
I have a question about the solo delve rules. Once you get your dungeon size to 1, you roll for resolution, note the adjustment depending on if you got a clue or a setback. If I understand correctly, from then on you do a resolution check after each new room. So if I get to +4 Setback, it becomes impossible to roll a clue or the objective? Is this intended?
Good question! I’ll update the text to clarify but if you reach +4 Setback, fate acts against you and your objective becomes impossible to reach. You determine what form this takes.
Hi Fred!
Hiya, thanks for the help! I put these in my notes and tried some solo play, and I've got a few more questions if you don't mind!
Yochai Gal has some good advice for converting monsters to Cairn from other systems, the principles apply to Runecairn as well, though not in the exact manner. 5. I’d say rare items should have a 5-10% chance if rolling on a random table.
I love this game, and I've played it solo once using the provided adventure. But one thing I'm stuck on is where to place bonfires when using the delve generation mechanics. Do you have a rule of thumb you use (outside the dungeon, then at the midpoint) or is there something obvious I'm missing?
This is a great question! I use the following guidelines:
Thanks!
Awesome, thank you! Excited to take the solo rules for a spin.
Some extremely kind words from Chris McDowall of Bastionland Press, creator of Into the Odd and Electric Bastionland. Thanks Chris!
First off, this looks extremely rad and I'm excited to check it out. Secondly, I love the tag icons you have at the top of the page (Solo, Lethal, etc.)—is there a master reference of those available somewhere, or were they created bespoke for this project?
Thanks! The icons are from Guilherme Gontijo and are released under public domain.
https://gontijo.itch.io/tabletop-rpg-icon-set
thanks so much!
For those interested in seeing the Solo Rules in action, check out this series of videos from Stoneaxe Tabletop Gaming!
Excellent review from Roll 4 Initiative on YouTube! Ryan really got into character!
Last night I ran Beneath the Broken Sword from Runecairn Wardensaga live on Twitch for PlusOneExp!
Includes character creation and the adventure from start to finish.
Part 1 of a review from the Talking About Games YouTube channel. Thanks Abraham!
Here’s part 2!
And Part 3!
And here’s Part 4!
Part 5 now!
Hey, thanks for making this game. Just looking through it and there are zeros/noughts on the character sheet (back of book and the separate form-fillable PDF) which can't be removed. These are in Resilience, Def, and Inventory. Please let me know if there's any possibility of an updated character sheet PDF. Thanks!
Hello! I’ve just uploaded a plain version of the PDF rather than the auto-calculating one:
https://byodinsbeardrpg.itch.io/runecairn-wardensaga/devlog/368294/added-plain-paper-character-sheet
Thanks!
Ah! Thank you so much.
This is so so good! Well done Colin. Solo rules! Lots of tables! Good art! Adventure! its all there
Here’s a video I made earlier with an example of character creation in Runecairn:
Thanks a lot for the solo-option; can't play this right now with my group but I wanted to try this ...!!!