Svärdets Sång (Forbidden Lands in English), is an OSRnote tabletop RPG, published by Free League Publishing and Modiphius Entertainment. Though initially appearing to be a traditional Tolkien-esque inspired High Fantasy world, Forbidden Lands is actually a morbid Dark Fantasy.
Forbidden Lands is set in a vast remote valley that was once known as Ravenland, a land home to the Elves, Dwarves, Halflings, Goblins and some of their Half-Human prodigy. Until it was conquered by the Human army of Alderland, under the command of the Half-Elf spellbinder Zygofer over three centuries ago. But when Zygofer’s forces were overwhelmed by the brutal savagery of the Orcs, the slave army used by the Elves and Dwarves, he opened dark gates to seek the help of demons. Unfortunately, this would be his undoing. As the demons spread chaos and corruption in their wake, they spawned foul twisted abominations that cursed the Ravenland. Zygofer lost his will to the dark corrupting evil of the demons and in his maddened state, he claimed his throne and pronounced himself king of the Ravenland, with his daughter Therania by his side.
To keep their vile corruption from spreading, the King of Alderland in the south built a great wall called the Iron Lock across the mountain pass that joined Alderland to the Ravenlands. Then he forbade all to ever speak of what had happened in Ravenland, banishing all those who break this law across the border; as well as stripping all records of the Ravenland from the annals of history. Since that day, the spellbinder’s domain is now known as the "Forbidden Lands". Zygofer's henchmen, the feared Rust Brothers, still haunt the land, but the spellbinder himself has not been seen for many years. Fearful whispers say he has transformed into another demonic creature called Zytera.
Today, the Forbidden Lands are a lawless place where demons and dark creatures roam the countryside, while common folk barricade themselves in small villages. Only the brave and the foolish, the raiders and the rogues, dare venture out to seek treasure and glory in the ruins of old. The inhabitance of this world has only just been freed from their three-hundred years of forced geographical imprisonment and isolation by a phenomenon known as "The Blood Mist", freeing thousands of Kin to explore and rediscover their lost world. Players will quickly find it’s a grim world that’s very much full of twisted demonic mutants and a number of prejudicial races that often despise the other races not like them for one reason or another.
Unlike Dungeons & Dragons and most other RPGs of its kind; Forbidden Lands doesn’t have its players take on the roles of noble adventurers or messianic heroes, instead players take on the roles of highwayman and raiders. Because they’re the only types of Kin brave enough, or crazy enough, to brave the ruins of their world.
The Bitter Reach sourcebook expands the game to a new setting, the frozen wastes north of Ravenland. Zygofer and the blood mist didn’t reach that far north, but the land of the Reach is cursed in other ways - and the environment can be as deadly as any enemy.
The game provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: The Player’s Handbook does not paint a pleasant Tolkien-inspired home life for Halflings. Instead, it’s a Stepford Smiler society that ignores the unpleasant problems, with children at the mercy of parents coming home drunk to beat their children bloody, and mentally disabled elders locked in the basement.
- The Ageless: Elves. All other Kin can start as either Young, Adult, or Old, which influences your starting attributes, skills, and talents (older characters start with more skills and talents but lower attributes, and vice-versa), but Elves are always treated as Adult and are explicitly noted to be immortal.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Orcs. Former slaves of the Elves and Dwarves, they rebelled during the war for the Ravenland and are now free to fight and pillage as they please — which has earned the species a rather bad reputation to put it lightly. The Player's Handbook even notes that they are so reviled by most other Kin that playing one in a group can (and should) be challenging. The Goblins aren't just minions of the Orcs, for once, but have some nasty co-dependency issues with the Halflings instead.
- Beneath the Mask: Halflings like to portray themselves as jolly little people with idyllic lives and without any problems. Feeling great shame for the past deeds of their race’s predecessor they try their best to make up for their racial misdeeds by being as good as they can be. However, in reality they’re not as kind-hearted little folk as they let on. In truth they’re no better than their Goblin counterparts; sometimes they can be even worse than Goblins. As their efforts of virtue are not genuine, often only being done to hide and excuse their disreputable behavior behind closed doors.
- Chocolate Baby: When a Half-Kin's pregnancy is close to term, the mother and father goes out to a secluded location agreed upon by both Half-Kin. The Cradle. Where the men are to guard their women outside, whilst their women give birth to their child. However, unbeknownst to the fathers; it's random whether or not the baby will be born as the same Half-Kin as the mother and father. If they're not, the mother will swap hers with an opposite Half-Kin mother. Sometimes, mothers will not return to their men until such as swap has occurred with them. When they do return, the Half-Kin mothers never tell their husbands if the child is truly theirs.
- Creation Myth: Basically every Kin seems to have their own. Which are actually true is unclear.
- Defector from Decadence: Halfling player characters are strongly implied to be this by default; sick of the two-faced nature of Halfling society, they've struck out on their own to truly enjoy life, free of the expectations and contradictions of their Kin. Goblin PCs, likewise, are likely fed up with being underappreciated by the Halflings and want to enjoy life on their own terms as well.
- Elves Versus Dwarves: A rare aversion. Elves and Dwarves tolerate each other, as the Dwarves were created to expand the world and the Elves were created to tend to the flora and fauna that sprang up, or so the legends claim.
- Evil Counterpart Race: Both the Halflings and Goblins were originally a part of the same race called Dark Elves. Who were made from the moon goddess Eor’s jealousy, as she tossed blue moonstones after The Red Wanderer's elves as they fell to the earth. That is until they were split into two by the Raven God as punishment for trying to trick him; now both races are jointly called Half-Kin. One would think that would make Halflings be the good half and the Goblins being the bad, but this is not always the case, as they can be just as bad if not worse than each other.
- Fantastic Racism: In spades. Dwarves dislike everyone (except elves, whom they mostly-tolerate), but especially hate humans. Orcs hate everyone (the feeling's mutual) after being enslaved by the Elves and Dwarves and then abandoned during the war. Most Elves think the lesser mortal races are defiling their land. Half-elves think they're better than everyone. Halflings hate themselves and their two-faced society, and the Goblins hate the Halflings for being dishonest to themselves. Wolfkin think they're better than all the civilized species.
- Healing Factor: Elves can enter a regenerative trance that heals all lost attributes and critical injuries, though severed or truly destroyed body parts cannot be restored.
- Heroic Spirit: The Kin talents of Half-Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs all touch on this in different ways; Half-Elves get a 'freebie' whenever they spend at least one Willpower (so spending 1 counts as 2, 2 counts as 3, etc.), Dwarves can Push rolls as many times as they like (everyone else can only Push a roll once), and Orcs can get a Heroic Second Wind to recover even if one of their stats is Broken.
- Hobbits: Halflings in Forbidden Lands are not too dissimilar from their traditional depictions in other RPGs. Living in small villages where they’ll work as farmers and presenting themselves as humble, good natured creatures that enjoy spending their days eating, drinking, and sleeping. After the Dark Elves were divided by the Raven God, Halflings inherited most of the better traits of their Dark Elven ancestry. But although they initially seem like the Halflings most TTRPG players have come to know, but not everything as it seems.
- Humans Are Average: The Human Kin Talent allows them to sub in any skill's ranks in place of any other skill for a single roll (so long as they can justify it to the GM), making them very flexible compared to the other Kin.
- Invading Refugees: The Ailanders in Ravenland fled from Alderland to escape religious prosecution in their homelands, the Elves graciously welcomed their guests whilst the Dwarves begrudgingly accepted them so long as they behaved and obeyed the Law of the Land. However, three-hundred years later, The Rust Church from Alderland attempted to conquer Ravenland. Under Teramalda she annexed the refugee settlement villages, converting them to the Rust Church and drafted the farmers into her Iron Guard.
- Land of Faerie: Before they became 'The Forbidden Lands' by the people of the world; the 'Ravenland' was the only known county where mythical and fantastical creatures and races dwelled.
- Magic Is Evil: Whilst it's not inherently capital-E Evil, Magic has the potential to go horribly wrong despite all the good things it can do. Its (mis)use by Zygofer during the initial invasion that resulted in the Ravenlands being isolated for three centuries mean it's distrusted to say the least. One particularly bad roll can lead to your character being dragged into Hell by a demon — time to roll up a new one!
- Standard Fantasy Races: As one would expect from an OSR revival TTRPG, Forbidden Lands offers eight playable races to choose from. The Alderland invaders' descendance of Humanity; the indolent forest dwelling Elves; the indecisive bastards known as Half-Elves; the obstinate stunted race of Dwarves; the brutal savages of Orcs; the vicious lycan descended Wolfkin; the drunken pigs called Halflings, and finally their twisted sister race of vile Goblins.
- Switched at Birth: This is done within both Halfling and Goblin society. The mothers keep the child of their own Half-Kin, if they're not the same, the mother swaps her child with the opposite Half-Kin mother.