The Bense Trilogy

The Fury of the Forsaken Kickstarter is now 95% funded. But although this Kickstarter is titled "Fury of the Forsaken", it's really a two-book project. The second book, The Bense Trilogy, is just as important and just as exciting. 

So what is The Bense Trilogy? What even is a Bense? And how do you pronounce it?

Bense is a city in the land of Norrøngard on the southern shores of the country above the waters of Serpent's Gulf. It's pronounced BEN-suh, not Bens or Benz.

Bense is modeled on the historical town of Birka in Sweden and is home to about 3,000 people. Being the southernmost large population center, Bense has become the entry point for foreign trade into Norrøngard and as such is a bit more cosmopolitan than a lot of the other Norrønian cities*. Despite this, Bense is still an exciting place, nestled between the water and the dark and mysterious Raven's Wood. There's a haunted keep to the west of the city, and there is a burial site outside the city walls called The Mounds, which has over 1,000 barrows, many of which are inhabited by the undead menace known as draugar. 

So that's Bense. Now, what's in The Bense Trilogy?

The Bense Trilogy is a collection and expansion of three previous adventures. When Kobold Press was launching their first Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter for their version of 5th edition gaming, Lazy Wolf Studios was one of the publishers invited to contribue to the Adventure Pack add-ons and again for their Game Master's Guide Kickstarter. We contributed two adventures to these two Kickstarters and then followed them up with a third that we released on our own.

The first was Banner of the Bull. The adventure, penned by Yours Truly, was about a mission to investigate a trelleborg (a Viking ring fortress) on the eastern border of the land that had failed to report in. The reason has to do with a threat never seen in Norrøngard before, an incursion of fae more common in the neighboring country of Araland. The adventure has both comedic and serious aspects, and it presents a lot of world lore about both two contemporary cultures and a fallen empire.

The second was Keeper of the Drowned, written by ENNIE-winning designer Brian Suskind (now a permanent member of Kobold Press). In the adventure, merfolk angry at the fisherfolk of Bense for trespassing in what they see as their waters plan a ritual that threatens the city. It's a trap and puzzle adventure set underwater. It's dangerous, deadly, clostrophobic, and it has a very dramatic conclusion.

The third adventure was Troll of the Town. Written by Kelly Pawlik, this is a criminal investigation into a series of thefts just inside Bense's northern wall, with some suspiciously large footprints tracked in the mud. This is a lighter, comedic adventure, though it can turn deadly in several places. A series of potential random encounters in the nearby Raven's Wood means there are a lot of monsters in the appendix that you can use later if they don't come up during the game.

For the expansion, not only are there  tweaks and fixes based on play, but more information on the town is being added. In the deluxe version of the short-story anthology, Tales from Stolki's Hall, there is a section in the appendix that details the history of Bense's most popular mead hall. It gives background and statistics for the proprietor Stolki himself, his staff, and his most faithful customer. This is being converted from 5th edition to Tales of the Valiant and added to the new book to help flesh out Bense and make it a truly alive and vibrant setting populated with engaging NPCs. 

The Bense Trilogy is over 140 pages. It offers the players a home base or starting location in this richly detailed city and three adventures that will take them from levels 1 to 4. Running through them all will prepare your characters to go into the book-length Fury of the Forsaken feeling fully grounded in and invested in the land of Norrøngard and its culture. 

*cities in Norrøngard would, by population size, be called towns anywhere else on the continent, but as the largest settlements in the country, we're giving them the benefit of the doubt. Just roll with it. Don't make them feel bad.