Game Status and Changelog

Current Status: Final Playtesting

Huldufolk is currently finishing up the playtest phase of development. We’ve run 2 local playtests, along with public playtests at HLGCon, Dreamation, and PAX Unplugged 2019. In the new year we’ll be releasing a Playtest Packet and asking local groups to try running a Huldufolk event for themselves.

Following the playtest period, Huldufolk will enter a beta period, with the local playtests being able to continue into a WPI Huldufolk chronicle. Consider this analogous to an early access video game, except the RPG will be available for free on our site. During this time, Huldufolk will be ready for live play, including running as a live chronicle within the Winding Path Initiative, a Parlor Larp Social Club. As play progresses, we will be making changes to the game to reflect any issues found, further refining the setting and system. We believe having the game out early on in the process, and reacting to issues, is far better than waiting until after a final release to find problems in the system. You can’t “patch” a game book, so it’s important to us to have everything battle tested before a final release.

If you read through Huldufolk and have questions, or have feedback on things you think would improve the game, don’t hesitate to contact me at joeterranova@gmail.com. If you’re interested in staying in the loop to run a Huldufolk game once it’s ready for the public beta chronicle, Contact Us at WPI.

Changelog

8/27/18 First version released, including initial setting information
12/4/19: PAX Playtest Update
- Full playtest system added to site.
  - If you previously read through the system PDF for a previous playtest, there are very few notable changes:
    - Instead of Huldufolk receiving 1 Belief point per Belief Rank, they receive 3
    - When using Empire 2: Plant the Flag, it is now possible to contest the Demesne of a Huldufolk of a higher Belief rank, but doing so requires spending a Belief¹Conflict over Demesne in combat is expended to be back and forth, constantly swapping. This change makes that possible when challenging someone of higher Belief, but costly to do.
- Settings changes:
  - Updated origin story for The Blessed. According to The Blessed, the Huldufolk were cursed for stealing the secret of fire.
  - Minor updates to the Blessed faction descriptions: Friends of God, Bringers of Fire, Judges of Light. Instead of dissension in the ranks of the Bringers of Fire and Judges of Light about their purpose, dissenters over those group’s goals are instead in the Friends of God²With so much room for political conflict in Huldufolk already, having dissent within political factions made the politics unwieldy. Instead the subfactions have united internal goals, and the conflict is without instead of within. Plus, more reason to be a Friend of God.
  - Added The Exile, a setting explanation of how overt actions by Huldufolk affect their ability to use Belief. This is the macro explanation — on a per scene basis we’ll be adding a “Scene Loudness” system, which will likely be tried at PAX Unplugged.
  - Added Duels, an explanation of how Huldufolk can resolve serious disputes³Duels will likely be folded into a larger explanation of Folkslaughter in a later revision, but such conflicts have come up often enough it should be spelled out, and I’ve had that story about the Huldufolk inadvertently starting the Bronze Age collapse sitting in my drafts folder for 2 years now.