Inspired by the skelflytter or deildagast of Scandinavian folklore – which may be loose be translated as a ‘fence post mover’ or ‘fence ghast’ – there is a new mystery for the rpg VAESEN – Nordic Horror Roleplaying, which has the skelflytter as its focus. It is a mystery taking place deep in the Swedish forests in a small town on the border of modernity as the railroad is coming, and yet it cannot enter the town as something … mysterious, something … powerful is intervening. Naturally the Society in Uppsala becomes involved and off they go on an adventure to solve a case about the hauntings of a skelflytter.
A central element in the mystery are the social tensions between villagers, and how this manifests as a supernatural force in the shape of the skelflytter, and solving the crimes of the past is necessary for a solution to The Skelflytters from Linnamannsland – which you can find at DrivethruRPG.
Some of what makes Vaesen interesting is how, you can do deep dives into Scandinavian folklore and pull out strange critters and unsettling tales and use the to construct mysteries, that often have a central social component. It is not enough to disrupt the cultists from summoning the big bag as in some horror-themed games, but instead you must identify the misdeed and solve it, in order to do good.
Roles, Dice and Fun 