# Songs and Sagas tags: #game/rpg/songs-and-sagas ![[Songs and Sagas (cover).jpg]] _Songs and Sagas_ is a roleplaying game that sits awkwardly—but charmingly—between two chairs. On one side, it holds the d20 and high lethality of the OSR (Old School Renaissance); on the other, it clutches the "fail forward" and "play to find out" principles of _[[Powered by the Apocalypse]]_. The premise asks you to inhabit a rugged northerner in a frozen, alien wilderness. Your ancestors fled an apocalypse through "luminous doorways," landing in a place that clearly doesn't want you there. As a "Saga-born," you map the land, fight the locals, and try to generate enough drama to justify a song being written about you. Developed by Fari RPGs, it eschews complex lookup tables for a deck of playing cards and a philosophy that suggests the Game Moderator should actually _like_ the players—a suspicious notion, if you ask me. ## Core Mechanics The game uses a d20 for resolution but complicates your life with a standard deck of playing cards, ensuring that even a simple task has layers of unnecessary anxiety. ### The Trial Roll When you attempt something risky (the "Move" of this system), you perform a **Trial Roll**. 1. **The Target:** The GM sets a Difficulty Rating (DR), defaulting to 12. 2. **The Twist:** Here is the gimmick. The GM draws cards equal to the region's **Risk Rating**. For every **black card** (Spades/Clubs) revealed, the DR increases by 2. The environment actively conspires against you based on the luck of the draw. 3. **The Roll:** You roll a **d20 + Attribute**. If you beat the modified DR, you succeed. 4. **The Loot:** On a success, you keep one of the revealed cards. On a failure (a "Setback"), you mark XP—a classic PbtA "consolation prize" mechanic ensuring you only learn when you are suffering. ### Fate Rolls For actions that are risky but don't threaten immediate bodily harm, you make a **Fate Roll**. This is a Trial Roll stripped of the card-drawing theatrics. It is the game's way of saying, "I can't be bothered to calculate the risk of you climbing a ladder, just roll the die." ### Burning Cards The cards you scavenge from successful Trial Rolls are your resource engine. You **burn** them from your hand to rewrite reality: - **Modify Rolls:** Add +2 to your roll or an ally's. - **Turn the Table:** The most PbtA mechanic of the bunch. You can turn a failure into a success, but the GM gets to introduce a "complication." Essentially, you succeed, but now the room is on fire. - **Invoke the Vanori:** Burn specific suits to trigger abilities from your spirit guide (your _Vanori_), ranging from healing to combat boosts. ### Experience and Growth In true narrative-game fashion, failure drives growth. When your XP track fills (mostly from failing rolls), you receive a "Blessing." This involves drawing cards to randomly increase stats or Resilience. You don't "build" a character so much as you "survive" one. ## Editions _Songs and Sagas_ is a singular pamphlet release, avoiding the bloat of multiple editions. It exists as a cohesive, rules-light document. There is a _Creator Kit_ for those wishing to hack the system, but the core text is a standalone entity. # References - [Official Game Page and Store - Fari RPGs](https://songsandsagas.farirpgs.com/ "null") - [Digital Edition & Community Copies - Itch.io](https://farirpgs.itch.io/songs-and-sagas "null") - [Review: "A clearly laid out game… the resolution mechanic is very exciting" - Pen Paper Dice](https://pen-paper-dice.de/en/reviews/ttrpg-reviews/review-of-songs-and-sagas/ "null") - [Video Overview: Learn with the Designer - YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0k4-6eMH2U0 "null") - [Discussion: "A neat little system with a lot of flavor" - Reddit (r/osr)](https://www.reddit.com/r/osr/comments/18hqf4m/looking_for_playtesters_for_songs_and_sagas_an/ "null")