Joining Freya's Daughters

[MongooseKat]

In Shield Maidens, every player takes on the role of a female warrior. Shield Maidens aren’t necessarily born female, but all serve under the auspices of the rebel goddess Freya. Even though they are a single group, there’s a lot of variety to be enjoyed during character creation.

After deciding on a concept, players are allowed to spend points on Branch Skills and sub-skills, adding to the variety in-between characters, but that’s not all: they also get to create their own unique Guardian Shield. In the Training Guide, there are 6 hubs to choose from, such as the Wotoan Hub, which carries the accumulated wisdom of ages within its frame. Choosing this hub grants its bearers points in two sub-skills on the Understanding branch.

As you might notice, Guardian Shields aren’t just a way to defend or expand one’s abilities: they also reflect your character’s personality (or the other way around), adding to the roleplaying experience as a whole. We’re definitely looking forward to you finding out more about these iconic shields!

https://www.mongoosepublishing.com/shield-maidens

 

[cots5]

So, there cannot be male or non-binary characters?

 

[MongooseMatt]

So, there cannot be male or non-binary characters?

Hey there,

You can absolutely have non-binary characters as Shield Maidens. As for the men, we have this in the very first stretch goal:

Allies
Allies are the male counterparts of the Shield Maidens, drawn from the Resistance and enhanced with chrome that is overclocked in battle. They follow multiple gods, forming sects to receive divine favour. This PDF supplement provides everything you need to create Allies to play alongside Shield Maidens in your campaigns.


Hope that helps!

 

[steelbrok]

TBH, I think the Allies option should be built into the Core rules otherwise you're very limiting of the character types that can be played.

 

[locarno24]

Must say I love the art style.
The primer's artwork of the longhouse with an eighties-style jukebox next to the firepit made me smile a lot for some reason.

Also, I like the universally available accessibility aid - we've not seen the injury rules yet, but the idea that as long as a player's Shield Maiden survives a session, replacement extremities are available means the GM doesn't need to be too cautious about inflicting serious and memorable injury on that character without worrying too much about sending them back to character creation mid-campaign.

One question - given that the Shield Maiden's Training Guide is essentially a 'players handbook', I assume there's no starter adventure in it; is there any pre-written intro adventures currently planned other than The Sun?

 

[MongooseMatt]

One question - given that the Shield Maiden's Training Guide is essentially a 'players handbook', I assume there's no starter adventure in it; is there any pre-written intro adventures currently planned other than The Sun?

We do indeed have some other bits and pieces in the works!

 

[locarno24]

Glad to hear it.

Also:

TBH, I think the Allies option should be built into the Core rules otherwise you're very limiting of the character types that can be played.

They have now passed the funding tier to unlock that, I believe.

 

[steelbrok]

Glad to hear it.

Also:

TBH, I think the Allies option should be built into the Core rules otherwise you're very limiting of the character types that can be played.

They have now passed the funding tier to unlock that, I believe.

Indeed they have and thus I have backed the project

 

[Limpin Legin]

Hi there,

I'm really interested in this game for it's Cyberpunk/Viking theme and the central role/emphasis placed on the use of shields !

However, investing in a game that relies heavily on everyone being female characters is a big risk as I cannot be sure everyone I know would be persuaded. I'm okay as I've played enough Tomb Raider (etcetera) not to be phased, however that might not be true of other players. So is there any advice or guidelines from any of the current publications esp. for males considering what to expect when playing female characters in the context of this game? I fear some players might find it a farcical and uninspiring prospect, I suppose.

Plus how easy would it be to port Traveller Sword Worlds 'Space Viking' adventures and background material into Shield Maidens? I own the Sword Worlds source book but I've not currently seen enough about Shield Maidens to confirm or deny my question. Or, put another way - how different are Traveller Sword World Vikings compared to Shield Maiden Vikings?

 

[MongooseMatt]

Hey there,

First, for an all female group of characters... I think I would start off with the line that if people can get behind the idea of playing elves or dwarfs in other games... I am not sure Shield Maidens would be a massive stretch Perhaps go with the line that these are the Daughters of Freya they are playing rather than simply a group of women who joined together to fight evil?

As for the Sword Worlds, adventure concepts might be translated, but remember that Shield Maidens is very, very fantastical (travelling the rainbow bridge between worlds, actually meeting gods...), so you need to remember that element as well.

Those are my first thoughts - I'll ask around the office for opinions too!

 

[Limpin Legin]

Hi Matt , thanks for the suggestions. Would be nice to get a discussion going or hear some views on the matter, either here or on discord. True, the Daughters of Freya don't sound like your "average" female , but I know less about them than I know about elves, dwarfs or solomani , etc. So I don't know how to recommend playing them.

 

[MongooseMatt]

I am not sure any recommendation is necessary, and you can let your players find their own ground. Some may play them as straight Vikings, others with shades of the WWII resistance, and still more might do a fair reflection of the Rat Queens (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rat_Queens).

This all fits into the Nine Realms, and it really comes down to what kind of campaign you are looking for. Don't feel constrained!

 

[Limpin Legin]

By "recommendation" I was thinking more about aligning with the games values, and what that would be like. I wanted to get away from a stigma that characters in this world could only appear with handbags and high heel shoes (for example) - that would have been a constraint and unhelpful.

I don't feel so much constrained as uncertain about where to begin. "Straight Vikings", "WWII agents" and "Rat Queens" would provide very inspiring idea boards for players. It should be possible to do something with those themes, if that how the game is amenable.