@ -29,25 +29,13 @@ Before your first mission, you can purchase equipment ( knives, tinderboxes, hun
Speaking of, the setting for Vaesen is stunning and it sets the mind alight with possibility. The dawn of the Industrial Age spurs sudden population booms in urban centers which begin expanding outward into the wilderness while folk of all sorts are drawn from the countryside in search of gainful labor or to chase their dreams of riches. Forests are cleared to fuel and build machines that belch smoke into the sky, ore is ripped from the living earth in the name of growth and progress, and all the while people quietly forget or proudly forsake The Old ways. All the while, the creatures and forces humankind once carefully and respectfully shared the world with grow disquiet, no longer appeased by rituals and mindful distance.
Speaking of, the setting for Vaesen is stunning and it sets the mind alight with possibility. The dawn of the Industrial Age spurs sudden population booms in urban centers which begin expanding outward into the wilderness while folk of all sorts are drawn from the countryside in search of gainful labor or to chase their dreams of riches. Forests are cleared to fuel and build machines that belch smoke into the sky, ore is ripped from the living earth in the name of growth and progress, and all the while people quietly forget or proudly forsake The Old ways. All the while, the creatures and forces humankind once carefully and respectfully shared the world with grow disquiet, no longer appeased by rituals and mindful distance.
A rare few humans gain The Sight, the ability to directly witness the strange and powerful forces that move just behind the veil of myth. The Sight should not be called a gift generally being found only after witnessing or experiencing some terrible tragedy, but it grants the ability to intervene in or avoid the activity of these supernatural beings, the Vaesen. If you had the sight, if you were a Child of Thursday, there was a chance that you might encounter or be recruited by The Society. The Society worked to understand the Vaesen and their place in the world, their desires and needs, and to keep the peace between all who called Sweden home.
A rare few humans gain The Sight, the ability to directly witness the strange and powerful forces that move just behind the veil of myth. The Sight should not be called a gift generally being found only after witnessing or experiencing some terrible tragedy, but it grants the ability to intervene in or avoid the activity of these supernatural beings, the Vaesen. If you had the sight, if you were a Child of Thursday, there was a chance that you might encounter or be recruited by The Society. The Society worked to understand the Vaesen and their place in the world, their desires and needs, and to keep the peace between all who called Sweden home.
## The Gameplay Loop
## The Game
The gameplay loop is structured somewhat similarly to Blades in the Dark: your crew takes on a job, executes it with some degree of success or failure, and comes home to rest, recover, and potentially increase the capabilities of their characters and their base of operations.
### Bustin' may or may not make you feel good
The core action of Vaesen revolves around solving a supernatural mystery. The world is steeped in history. Nothing happens at random; when things go wrong there is a reason, even if it's deeply esoteric or based purely on a misguided emotional misreading of the truth. Vengeful spirits abound and around every corner you'll find an ancient spirit who demands arbitrary but precise supplications to avoid their ire.
The first part of your adventure is made up of arming yourself as best you can. Upsala is a growing modern city and you can find for purchase a wide variety of material goods and services to aid your investigation. Armaments and assistants are available for tackling the mundane and tangible problems that can and will put themselves in your way but it's important to understand that you are not playing a heroic fantasy game: you will not kill the Vaesen by bashing it over the head with a greatclub.
Your true weapon in your contests with the Vaesen is *knowledge*. As part of your mission preparation you may travel through the city conducting research and interviewing contacts to gather information that can explain or justify the strange events and forces troubling your client. None of it is guaranteed to be accurate, frequently filtered through the delirium of asylum residents or the skepticism of individuals who have forgotten and forsaken the old ways.
Eventually you conclude your shopping and research and set out to actually *solve the problem* and that's where things start to get messy. The people you're helping may not even believe in the supernatural and your organization only survives in mandatory-Protestantism 1860s Sweden by moving in secret; you must choose your words and actions carefully or risk alienating the people you're trying to save and that's the best-case scenario. At worst you risk drawing attention from law enforcement and the ever present-and-watchful eyes of the Church.
Once you're on the scene you and your party members search and interview and investigate to determine the nature of the spirit at work. Your work will not be easy. Most citizens do not believe in spirits or magic and find ways to rationalize whatever strange events are befouling their lives. If you are unlucky, you will eventually enter direct confrontation with the Vaesen at the center of the investigation. When this happens, you must hope that your research provided accurate *and* relevant information.
Throughout your exploration, investigation and confrontations you'll be challenged by different obstacles. You overcome these by rolling dice pools. How many dice you roll is determined by a combination of Attributes, Skills, Equipment, and Conditions. Your game-runner will determine which of the first three are applicable to a given obstacle but you'll usually roll between 2-7 dice when you try to solve a problem. Conditions, on the other hand, **always** deduct from your dice pool depending on whether you're making a physical or mental roll.
### Home Sweet Home
- Castle Gyllencreutz, Upsala: your base of operations
- Castle Gyllencreutz, Upsala: your base of operations
- upgrading your base
- upgrading your base
- Investigation
- Conditions
- Physical and Mental
- Dice pools
- Dispelling or soothing the Vaesen
- Dispelling or soothing the Vaesen
## The Venue
## The Venue
During the course of our game, we used two separate Virtual Table Tops to play: Alchemy and Foundry. We switched after our first session ( fact check this? maybe it was two ) because of some shortcomings with the current Alchemy implementation of the Vaesen system.
During the course of our game, we used two separate Virtual Table Tops to play: Alchemy and Foundry. We switched after our first session ( fact check this? maybe it was two ) because of some shortcomings with the current Alchemy implementation of the Vaesen system.
@ -44,10 +44,3 @@ Each one-on-one session includes an optional and complimentary 30 minute followu
## Booking
## Booking
You can [book an appointment](https://short.ndumas.com/booking) via Calendly. Please note that payment is taken up-front during the booking process.
You can [book an appointment](https://short.ndumas.com/booking) via Calendly. Please note that payment is taken up-front during the booking process.
## Refunds, Rescheduling, and Cancellation
### Rescheduling
If you wish to reschedule, please reach out to nickdumascoaching@proton.me **at least 24 hours before our session is scheduled** and I'll provide a link to a booking form that will let you set a new appointment at no additional cost.
### Refunds and Cancellation
Any refunds must be requested at least **24 hours before our session is scheduled**.