Fans of Barbarian Prince rejoice! I’ve reached into the vaults of my design folder for the game when I did the ‘Ultimate Edition’ in 2023 and found some lost treasures...
First of these is ‘Habitations’ and the first set of these 16 large cards is now available to download.
‘Habitation’ cards are a way of making every village or town even more unique. In ‘Barbarian Prince: Ultimate Edition’ I started this journey with each Habitation having a special event that only occurs there. For example, if the Prince is in the town of Cumry, you might have e403 which reveals that the town is being terrorised by a huge dragon. In the Temple of Zhor, e405 details a quest for a lost staff from the priests there.
These events meant that there was a continuing and evolving narrative that changes with each game and offers more variety and fun for players as they discover the secrets of the Southlands.
‘Habitation’ cards are a whole new layer to this narrative as each Habitation now has modifiers to rolls and effects to reflect the individual Habitation. You might not want to stay in the village of Ogon due to its hostilities towards strangers as you have a -1 modifier to all these rolls: Seek News and Information (r209), Seek to Hire Followers (r210), Beg (r223), Audience with Town Mayor (e156), Arrested (e060).
Cawther is more welcoming however as while staying there, or if you Visit a Tavern (r230), food is always half price!
I haven’t forgotten those habitations for the fair-folk either, and you just might end up discovering the Elf castle of Thalindor or the Halfling village of Hillshire. These ‘Site’ cards are brought into play when you discover the linked event (e070 for a Halfling Village or e166 for an Elf Haven). You then roll 1D6 and on a 5-6, draw the linked unique Habitation card. Dare you explore ‘The Obsidian Spire’ of Malachor....?
Each Habitation card is also brought to life with some lovely art, some expanded lore and even a coat of arms!
‘Habitations’ (1) is just the first mini-expansion I’m releasing for Barbarian Prince. Expect more next month!