The secret world of Vaesen - a Mephisto review
A Wicked Secret
With A Wicked Secret, the first adventure volume for the role-playing game Vaesen has been published. This volume contains four fully fleshed-out adventures, each of which revolves around a particular type of Vaesen on the one hand and, on the other hand, also addresses the other themes of the game - above all, the social changes of industrialization.
The first one is about a fishing base that has become a successful herring factory and, at the same time, has attracted the suspicion of a clergyman.
The following story focuses on a small town in the northern woods where the interests of a sawmill collide with ancient secrets.
Deadly secrets also lurk in a modern seaside resort when the wrong people play with the wrong forces.
And finally, university research is shown to be dangerous when it comes into contact with trolls.
Each of the four stories has a central entity in focus, but the settings, the conflicts, and the themes are pretty varied. Furthermore, the adventures offer more than just monster hunts that must end with a final battle; rather, the horror theme is approached in various ways. Without revealing more about the adventures, in my opinion, A Wicked Secret is a recommendable addition to the role-playing game Vaesen, with which game masters can easily spend their first game sessions.
(Björn Lippold)
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